Learning Curve
by SummerMistedDragon
Summary: Summary: It took Larry just under a week to adapt to being the night guard at the Natural History Museum. How long did it take Ahkmenrah to adjust to being free? Plus drabbles and random bits of all of our favorite characters. Rating may change later on.
1. Panic

**Summary: It took Larry just under a week to adapt to being the night guard at the Natural History Museum. How long did it take Ahkmenrah to adjust to being free? Plus drabbles and random bits of all of our favorite characters.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

* * *

**Chapter One**

**Panic**

Xxx _Two weeks after NatM_

With winter beginning to wane off it meant the nights got a little shorter, meaning Larry had about ten minutes between sunrise and the end of his shift to check the museum over to ensure it was clean and ready to go. This morning was no different as he took a shortcut through the Egyptian exhibit, checking everything over and relocking the glass case that held a set of swords he'd honestly never seen the pharaoh use. Ahkmenrah must have removed them to clean them as they now gleamed even in the dim light.

Exhaustion from a busy night of entertaining Rexy after Jed and Octavius broke the car, and then splitting up a fight between the Huns and the Confederate soldiers had Larry dragging his feet as he went through the motions of readying the museum for visiting hours.

Time to head home and get some sleep.

Xxx

His consciousness went from utterly nothing to all at once wide awake as the radiating warmth of the tablet woke up the museum for another night. His lungs gasped in air as he rubbed at his eyes, yawning a little as life refilled his limbs again.

The instant reaction after waking was to sit up…and smack his head on the lid…

Careful of the limited room he had, he reached up the shove the lid of the sarcophagus open, hands finding the well-worn spots to push against.

It didn't move.

He frowned in the pitch black of the sarcophagus' interior, pushing again and feeling the familiar half an inch shift of the lid as it went from resting on its edge to bumping the pins in the locks on the exterior.

The sarcophagus was locked tight. He froze, breaths coming faster now as he tried to figure out what had happened. The night guard always kept it unlocked, just had the stone slab slid over top so the lid could still swing open freely and then he'd move the slab to get out. He wasn't supposed to be locked up…

Unless…

No…no! Not by Ra or Isis or any other god could he have done something wrong…he'd been extra careful on the nights he actually left the exhibit room and when he interacted with the other exhibits, doing anything and everything to keep from being locked up. He'd been working hard to gain their trust, so many had been taught to fear him that the thought of possibly offending or misconstruing their views made him worry about being locked away again.

Taking a moment to try and focus his thoughts, he shifted how his hands were placed on the lid, taking slow breaths as he pushed again and prayed to Ra for the best…

Yet no amount of shoving was going to open that lid, the locks had held against his banging every night for over four thousand years, he wasn't getting out.

_…No…_

Maybe it was a mistake?

His throat tightened as he tried to call for help, unable to get more than a croak out as he started to get nervous.

He tapped the lid, hoping the noise would catch someone's attention. When that didn't work he hit it with his palms.

Panic started to take over as the minutes dragged out like hours, and his semblance of composure was crumbling. His fists began to beat against the led, the banging echoing loudly out in the exhibit, the only noise he could hear. The beating was almost deafening inside the sarcophagus, drowning out any rational thoughts while it became harder to breathe.

The pounding in his head grew louder as his actions grew in intensity, hammering as hard as he could on the lid.

He screamed…

Xxx

Larry crept quietly down a hallway, peering around a corner as Teddy paused behind him, both barely breathing as to not make any noise.

Nicky had had the great idea to play hide and seek since the soccer ball had been squished by the mammoth and neither Daley had picked up a new one. And currently Sacajawea teamed up with the only tigress the museum had were the pair dubbed as "it", a deadly combination for those trying to hide.

With a smirk the night guard began to head down the other hallway, going to the Hall of Miniatures and checking in for points.

Until he was knocked down by a rather large cat.

Luna churred softly as she nuzzled Larry's cheek, huffing and licking his uniform as he scratched her neck the way she liked it. The tigress was honestly the only big cat tame enough in the museum to be around.

Teddy was no different, Sacajawea had her arms wrapped around him and was smirking victoriously.

"And now team trackers 3, team president zip…I give up."

Sacajawea merely smiled, leaning against the president as the tiger huffed, giving Larry's shirt one last lick before padding off to find Attila or Nicky next.

"Come now Lawrence, you did rather well; I believe we managed to evade capture by a good ten minutes."

The pure optimism in Teddy's voice made Larry smile as the former president helped him up. He brushed his uniform down, head turning in reflex as some bird let out a call, the noise echoing in the museum.

"Thanks Teddy, still doesn't give me a lot of confidence in ever hoping to beat Sacajawea here."

He earned himself a shrug in response, the president offering his arm to his lady to walk with her to the next target.

Larry glanced around, peeking a head into the terra cotta exhibit to ensure the tapping he was now hearing wasn't the soldiers trying to "modify" their armor again and end cracking off pieces that the night guard would then have to super glue back on.

In fact the tapping wasn't coming from anywhere near him. With a sigh Larry back tracked through the halls, trying to follow the oddly bouncing echoes. As he apparently drew closer the tapping noise grew in volume to actually be banging, but from where?

Nearby chattering made him turn, Dexter was motioning for him to follow and in seeing how quickly the capuchin was moving, Larry didn't argue. The primate led the guard straight to the source of the banging, and Larry froze, dropping his flashlight as he stood outside the Egyptian exhibit.

The sarcophagus was locked…he must have slid the pins shut out of habit during his morning rounds.

"Dexter! Get Teddy! Go on, bring Teddy here now!"

Luckily the capuchin seemed nervous enough with all the racket to actually listen, taking off down the hallway again in search of the president.

Larry grabbed his flashlight as he sprinted inside, barely ducking the massive spears in time as the jackals lunged to protect their king. The stone slab slid the ground with a huge thud, but even that didn't stop the banging as Larry fumbled to pull the lock pins, trying to get them loose with how much the lid was jumping around.

He couldn't just yell for the banging to stop, it was almost impossible to hear in that thing. The pins finally came loose and Larry quickly shoved the lid open, narrowly missing one flailing fist while the other connected his jaw and he stumbled backwards.

A flash of gold made him look up as the pharaoh stumbled out, falling to the ground before scrambling away from the night guard in a panic, stopping only when his back hit the wall as he curled in on himself.

Larry moved slowly, careful not to startle the jackals who were watching him intently, and to avoid making the pharaoh doing anything rash.

He was _shaking_…

Damn! He knew he should have checked the locks before sundown.

The night guard moved to crouch in front of the pharaoh, slowly reaching a hand out to rest on a jeweled covered shoulder. The reaction was immediate, a hand suddenly grabbed his arm in death grip, the shaking only intensifying when Ahkmenrah finally looked up and met his gaze.

Larry would never forget the look on his face, a rapidly darkening bruise on his forehead, slight cut on his nose, tears running down his cheeks, and breaths coming too hard and fast to be safe…the night guard would be kicking himself for days for causing this.

"Ahkmenrah…I-"

"Please! Please don't lock me up again! I beg you don't!" His voice was hoarse from screaming, only adding to the desperation in his pleading. The pharaoh was bodily shaking, knees tight to his chest as he wrapped his arms around his legs and curled in on himself, sobbing outright at the thought of being locked in once more.

An arm wrapped around his shoulders, rubbing his back as he cried, unable to stop the fear taking over.

While not in his job description, Larry would never trade this in, sighing softly as he wrapped his arms around the young pharaoh, holding him against his chest like he did when Nicky was just as distraught.

A set of running footsteps made Ahkmenrah flinch, huddling against Larry as he kept shaking, softly begging not to be locked up over and over.

Theodore Roosevelt rushed in, stopping himself from saying anything once he took in the scene. Instead he settled for looking around, picking up a dropped lock pin and wincing at the damage, cracked and splintering. The president sighed softly as he sat down across from Larry, leaning against the sarcophagus as his mind reeled, ever since the first night his wax had warmed and he'd begun to life the "night life", the pharaoh had been locked up, never to be let out according to the night guard back then.

What a horrible mistake…that decision made without ever confirming the guesses that the Egyptian was evil and needed to be contained…had turned into something much worse…

The sobbing eventually died down to exhausted sniffling, the pharaoh gripping Larry's shirt tightly as the night guard rubbed his back, not letting go even when he tried to pull away.

Ahkmenrah flinched again, this time trying to wriggled free.

"Easy! Hey…easy Ahkmenrah, it's ok…it's ok…"

After what seemed like an age where the pharaoh was still tense and resisting, he finally relaxed, or at least gave up as he slumped against the night guard, too exhausted to fight anymore. Larry gently eased the gold crown off his head, setting it carefully on the floor next to him so Ahkmenrah's head fit on his shoulder better.

"Listen Ahkmenrah…I'm _so_ sorry…I must have slipped the pins in by accident this morning when I cleaned up, should just get rid of the stupid things…"

A soft sniff followed by a slight cough, "Y-you're n-not…"

"No!"

That didn't help, Ahkmenrah flinched at the loud noise, starting to shake again.

Larry mentally kicked himself again as he wrapped his arms around the pharaoh tighter, rocking slightly to soothe away the tears he just knew would come.

Softer this time, he spoke again, "No…not now or ever again Ahkmenrah, I will never lock you in again I promise you that. It was a horrible mistake I made and I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am.

Ahkmenrah grunted softly, nodding against the night guard's chest as he used a hand to rub at his face, sniffing slightly.

"If you don't mind my intrusion pharaoh…"

They both looked up as Teddy stood, placing the lock pins on the ground in from of him before slamming the heel of his boot down on the cracked pieces, shattering them completely in useless shards.

"There now…can't happen again now can it?"

Ahkmenrah managed another nod, accepting the offered hand hesitantly as he stood up, still looking pretty shaken as he mumbled something in Egyptian to get the two jackals to back off.

Teddy gently placed a hand on the pharaoh's shoulder, making him meet his gaze before speaking, "I know smashing the pins won't make up for the decades I stood idle and left them in the locks myself, I can only beg for your understanding, it was unforgiveable…"

"I…do understand…somewhat…but I do forgive you, all of you who saw the locks shut and didn't open them, a warning to stay away isn't something easily ignored."

The president smiled warmly, "And that my dear pharaoh, is why you are even here at this museum, your kind heart is why you are one of the great kings and are worth remembering."

The pharaoh looked away, whether in embarrassment or something else, neither man knew. Teddy patted his shoulder before departing, intending to ward off anyone else who'd come to check on the banging noise.

Larry gave Ahkmenrah a small smile, hoping it was taken as warm and accepting, "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up a bit."

Xxx

The men's bathroom on the second floor was where they headed instead of the staff bathroom next to the security office. Ahkmenrah had started shaking again at the mention of the smaller room.

Having dealt with people who were upset before, Larry merely snatched a handful of paper towels from the dispenser, folding them up and getting them damp with warm water before handing them to the pharaoh. He washed his hands while the Egyptian washed his face, both of them ignoring the slightly sniffling that broke the silence.

The night guard only stepped in to clean the cut on the pharaoh's nose, wincing in sympathy when Ahkmenrah hissed softly in pain.

"Should put a layer of foam or something on the lid to keep this from happening again."

That earned a small smile and a half-hearted chuckle as the pharaoh turned to set his crown back on his head, careful of the front edge when it rested on the bruise marring the bronze skin.

"I'd rather not add anything to the sarcophagus lid, it's cramped enough as it is in there."

Larry smirked as he tossed the paper towels away, following the pharaoh back out in the halls as they began to just walk around. "Ok then…no foam. But seriously Ahkmenrah, I am truly sorry about tonight, I in no means intended to have you locked in like that."

"It…*_sigh_* it's alright…accidents happen."

And that's why Cecil had off handedly mentioned that Larry being a father would aid him in this job, he could tell when someone was lying to him.

He grabbed the pharaoh's arm to make him stop, turning to face him. "No, it's not alright, you have every right to be mad at me, heck you have the right to be mad about being locked up period as soon as others knew the tablet brought everythin to life at night."

"And what good would being angry do me? It doesn't change the past Larry." The pharaoh's tone was nothing like Larry was used to, sharp and frustrated.

"No it doesn't, but it might just help how you act around others, I'm the night _watch_men Ahkmenrah, I'm not blind. You walk on glass around everyone else, and that's when you're actually out of your exhibit and around others. Nicky had to just about drag you out for the party two weeks ago. I know this is bothering you otherwise you'd relax more. You act as if one wrong move will send you back in your tomb again-"

"Because it's happened before!"

The outright roar from a now rather pissed Egyptian echoed off the walls, the pharaoh stared down the night guard angrily.

"When I was in London at Cambridge, after several months of nightly freedom, I started asking what the outside world was like, just curious as to how things had changed. The man didn't even wait until sunrise, forcing me back in the sarcophagus and locking it shut. I was stuck inside it for _years_…"

The desperation in his voice only made what happened next all that more shocking, Larry had expected Ahkmenrah to keep yelling as a way to vent his anger.

Not turn around and all out slam a fist into the brick wall.

Ahkmenrah jumped back, cursing in Egyptian as he hissed, clutching the wrist of his injured hand to his chest.

"Not quite what I meant when I said get mad, but whatever works, lemme see."

Larry gently turned the hand over, lightly brushing a fingertip against each finger and knuckle, ignoring Ahkmenrah when he grimaced and moaned softly.

"I don't think anything's broken, but I'm not a doctor, let's get you some ice and someone to take a look at that."

"The tablet heals us during the day. There is no need-"

"Yes there is, even if it doesn't seem that way."

Ahkmenrah didn't argue, following Larry to sit at the main desk as the night guard pulled an ice pack out of the mini fridge the tour guides had under the counter. The sharp groan he let out when the cold pack was applied only proved Larry's point that Ahkmenrah might have done some serious damage. Lucky for them, Teddy was passing through and more than happy to examine the bruising hand.

"Not too serious, deep bruising that's for sure, I wouldn't use it at all for the rest of the night, and even tomorrow be careful, no one's ever really tested just how far the tablet extends when it comes to healing."

The pharaoh nodded in thanks, shifting in the chair to almost be half sprawled on the desk next to him. Larry found him almost asleep like that twenty minutes later after he'd made a circuit of the museum.

"C'mon, the couch in the security office isn't half bad to sleep on."

"But…"

"Ahkmenrah-"

"Ahk. My…family shortened my name when just talking."

"Ahk it is then, there's still several hours until sunrise and you're falling asleep sitting there, move back to somewhere quieter. I'll come get you well before dawn."

With a sigh, Ahkmenrah stood, tugging at a stubborn fold in his cloak before doing as told. A good thing to, Rexy was now running through the lobby like nothing else, definitely too loud to try and sleep.

Nicky was already in the office when Ahk arrived, sound asleep on one side of the pull out couch's bed. The pharaoh almost turned around and left, but Nicky stirred enough to see him and must have seen how tired he was, tugging the blankets over as a gesture to just go ahead.

Ahkmenrah didn't remember falling asleep after he'd laid down, only pulling one blanket over himself as Nicky returned to dream land. He vaguely remembered Larry coming to get him back to his exhibit, being groggy and ready for daylight to return him to a mummy hid the fact that Larry had shut the sarcophagus once he was in comfortably.

The next night would be one of many that he would remember, as he went from the pharaoh of the tablet, to Ahk, their new friend.


	2. School

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To my Guest, Huskygirl1998, and penelope lemon reviews on the last chapter: Thank you both!**

**To _Fearless Turtle, MangaVampire, ShiningGalaxy, BlinksGoyl, Dragonninja-fan, ImLostForever, Unleashed111, crystalstar1999_, and _Lady of the Spirit_: Thank you so much for the favorites and the follows to this story and to me as an author! Wow!**

********Idea and Inspiration credited to Bookworm Gal, thank you!*******

* * *

**Chapter Two  
**

**School  
**

Xxx _March__  
_

Not many things set Larry Daley off nowadays, he was the night guard at a museum that came to life every night for crying out loud!

Yet when it came to his son, he'd drop everything in an instant. In this case, he'd be pulling almost double shifts. Erica and Don had finally left to go on their honeymoon to Costa Rica now that Larry had a stable job and they wouldn't have to worry about Nicky's living situation for three weeks. Meaning Larry got very little sleep for being a full time parent and a night guard at the world's craziest museum.

By Friday of week two, he was dragging his feet royally as he lead Nicky inside, locking the doors behind McPhee ten minutes later. The two split up to start the basic things like locking up the Mayans and the lions, prep Rexy's bone attached to Jed and Octavius' new car, and move the fire extinguisher near the neanderthal exhibit.

Rexy was just stretching and beginning to move as Larry collapsed into a chair at the front desk, pulling up his time sheet on the computer to check his hours as Teddy waved as he passed.

The museum inhabitants went about their business, nothing major happening in the first hour as Larry paid bills online and checked on the birthday present he was looking at for Nicky.

As any caring and conscientious parent would, he also logged on to the school website to ensure the three things Nicky had mentioned he needed to do for homework were the only three things assigned, and to check his grades.

xxx

For faceless and speechless civil war soldier representations, and a four thousand year old mummy, Ahk and the Northern soldiers weren't doing that bad as Nicky instructed them in the fine art of kicking a hacky sack around in a circle without letting it touch the ground.

The PA system crackled to life, the usual reminders of the most commonly broken rules, and a time reminder so everyone was aware. Nicky ignored it, balancing on one foot as he started to demonstrate how to pass the hacky sack between a person's own two feet.

"Oh! And would Nicholas Theodore Daley get his sorry butt to the security office. Now. That is all."

The completely calm and almost deadpanned tone of the request completely masked the meaning behind the words, but Nicky still froze, hacky sack dropping to the ground as they all automatically glanced to the ceiling. The boy spun around and sprinted down the hall, skidding down a corner and narrowly missing a collision with Teddy as he came to find Ahkmenrah.

"Sorry Teddy!"

The president nodded and tipped his hat slightly as the kid ran as fast as his legs could take him to get to the office before his dad did.

The civil war soldiers saluted the president before heading off somewhere else, Ahkmenrah bending down to pick up the hacky sack as he approached.

"I don't think this will go over well. "

"Neither do I."

xxx

Nicky barely managed to skid into the office before his dad turned the final corner. His footsteps squeaked slightly on the floor, only making Nicky's nervousness increase tenfold.

Larry stepped inside the door silently, shutting both halves before turning around and pointing at the couch for his son to sit down. He yanked a chair over to sit in front of the couch, setting a piece of paper down on the pull out couch bed that Nicky was sitting on.

"Explain this."

He glanced down at the paper, his dad's handwriting very clearly listing his grades for each subject. None were very good.

"Umm...whoops?"

Larry jumped to his feet, the chair bouncing with him and banging back down on the floor. "Dammit Nicky! You promised! That was your end of the deal! You keep your grades up and you come with me to work on the weekends! Heck you've been coming for the last two weeks during the week as well...I thought you said you had this handled!"

"I did...and then the tests got harder and some of the assignments got worse..."

"Then why didn't you tell me?! I'd be more than happy to help you, so would your mom and Don."

"Because...because...I don't know!"

Larry sighed heavily, rubbing at his face in exhaustion and frustration before pulling Nicky's backpack out of a spare locker and dropping it beside the silently fuming kid.

"Pull out your homework, show me what you're having issues on."

xxx

Muffled talking replaced the yelling Ahkmenrah and Teddy had been hearing, the two leaning on the door carefully to listen in on the night guard and his son.

"What was the last part of this that made sense to you?"

"Uhh...halfway through chapter six...but chapter five is still a little fuzzy..."

"Seriously?! You're on chapter _eight_ now! Why didn't you say anything sooner?!"

"I. Don't. Know."

"Nick...what happened man? Your last report card was so good and now this...it's like something just snapped...this has to have been going on for awhile obviously..."

"Yeah..."

Larry's position shifted as he must have come to a realization, his tone changing. "Started just after I brought you to the museum..."

"Dad..."

"Nicky you know the rules, school first, then coming here. If you can't handle it, then I'll find someone to watch you at night-"

"Dad! No!"

"Nicholas. Stop it."

Both historical figures cringed, Larry didn't use his son's full name lightly, for that matter use it ever.

"If your grades don't improve soon, then you're not coming to work with me anymore. Now get your homework done, you're staying in here for rest of the night. You're grounded."

Nicky's protests were cut off by the PA system crackling back to life, startling everyone with the noises echoing over it.

"Would Gigantor get out from wherever he is an' come help resolve a *_ahem_* situation in the Hall o' miniature? Much obliged."

Ahk and Teddy scrambled away from the door, ducking into an open cleaning supplies closet just before Larry rushed out of the office as Rexy roared loud enough to shake the museum walls. They only came out once they knew Larry was well gone.

"Would you prefer to aid Lawrence or young Nicholas?"

"I'll assist Nicky, you go help Larry."

Teddy nodded as he turned and jogged after the night guard.

xxx

Nicky was curled on the pull out couch, staring blankly at nothing when Ahkmenrah stepped into the office, careful to keep his cloak from getting caught in the door as prior experience taught him it wasn't pleasant.

The boy didn't react when the pharaoh sat next to him, but did sigh heavily as Ahkmenrah began to gently rub his back, bringing his distant thoughts back to the present as he moved to lean against one of his closest friends.

"What's troubling you?"

Nicky shrugged absently, playing with the jewels embedded in Ahk's gauntlet instead of answering.

"Nicky..."

"I suck at school...math's the worst, then spelling, and history..."

That earned a soft chuckle as the pharaoh rubbed the boy's shoulder comfortingly.

"You visit a museum almost every night and you're having trouble with _history_? You could just have asked us for assistance."

"I didn't want to bother anyone..."

Ahkmenrah jumped to his feet, instantly crouching in front of Nicky to look him in the eyes, completely serious.

"Nicholas...don't you _ever_ consider yourself a bother to any of us, we are more than happy to help you. All you have to do is ask. Though I wouldn't recommend asking the neanderthals for assistance."

Nicky smirked, and Ahk shifted to sit next to him again, picking up the math textbook and flipping through it idly.

"Now...what about this doesn't make sense?"

"How do you know about math?"

"The Egyptians built the pyramids Nicky, my people single-well not single-handedly created one of the world's finest architectural and mathematical marvels. I know how to do multiplication and division."

"With or without a hibiscus?"

Ahk laughed, falling back on the couch as his eyes watered as he almost choked on air he was laughing so hard. Nicky didn't get it until he dug out the pocket dictionary in his backpack, joining in when he realized his mistake.

By the time Ahk was able to calm down enough to breathe, Nicky was laying out with his head on the pharaoh's stomach, still chuckling occasionally as the former king of Egypt played with his hair.

"I believe you meant an abacus, not a flower."

"Yeah...that, told you my spelling grade stinks."

"Then let us work on it."

xxx

Larry sighed tiredly as he trekked back down to the security office to check on his son, he had never intended to leave like that in the middle of an argument...but duty called.

Pausing before he turned in the doorway, his thoughts were broken by Nicky's voice evenly chanting out multiplication tables, every once in a while adding in a "whoa" or laughing.

"...9 times 7...63...9 times...8...uh...whoa!"

"72"

Larry's brow furrowed when Ahkmenrah's voice cut in, but he poked his head around the door anyway.

The pharaoh had removed his cloak, giving him more freedom of movement as he and Nicky passed the hacky sack back and forth, neither able to keep their balance very well. Nicky's reciting was kept in time to the passes, inadvertently keeping him focused and making the studying more fun.

Further observation of the room showed Nicky's spelling assignment completed, and his history homework laid out and ready to work on once the math was done.

"Nine times ten?"

"Nintey, tens are easy."

"Five times ten?"

"We're on nine!"

"Five times ten."

"Fifty."

"Very good, not everything goes in order like you think it will."

"No it does not..."

Both turned in an instant as Larry leaned on the door frame, hands in his pockets as he nodded to Ahkmenrah before looking to his son.

"There's still a couple hours til sunrise, I bet Teddy will help you finish that history assignment if you can track him down."

Nicky nodded, snatching up his books and making to leave, pausing to give Ahkmenrah a quick hug that the pharaoh returned after a moment of shock. Both men watched as he tore off down the hallway, calling for the former president as he went.

"I apologize Guardian of Brooklyn, I had listened in on your prior conversation, and when you left I offered to assist him, even though he was being punished for his educational mistakes."

"Nah, it's alright Ahk, figured someone would step in. Nicky looks up to everyone here so it really doesn't surprise me."

Ahkmenrah nodded, putting his cloak back on with well practiced hands before helping Larry clean up the papers scattered over the pull out bed.

"I am more than happy to assist him when he needs it."

"I know, and thanks."

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below!  
**


	3. Spring Cleaning

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To Katsa Holmes: Now! lol I update as often as the ideas hit me and I have time to sit and type. Thank you!  
**

**To Guest: Thank you!**

**To Huskygirl1998: Thanks! Oh yes the miniatures do play quite a big part in the comedic relief of the movies huh? They shall appear more soon! And to your second review WHOA! I like that idea! hmmm... ;)  
**

**To _Whoviannn, Witch08, jes 32321, SirAmbala, Aviva636, alaskanwoman25, i-want-to-run-to-cassiopiea, XthirteenX, Wild West Pyro, Julia Alevandria, LadySilverSnitch, wolfrain5898, PointlesslyPoetic, ilovepie123, kookiecraft,_ and_ ShiningGalaxy_: Thank you so much for the favorites and the follows to this story and to me as an author! Wow!**

********Inspiration and Ideas from PointlesslyPoetic and Bookworm Gal for wanting some romance********

* * *

**Chapter Three  
**

**Spring Cleaning  
**

Xxx _April__  
_

Normally a day off for an employee meant some free time for errands, a little relaxing at home alone or with family, and a little more sleep.

Larry Daley had no such luxury. There were no nights off in his case, no one could take over for one night as no one else knew about the museum's after hours adventures.

So when the museum was closed for the day for deep spring cleaning of the entire museum, Larry pulled overtime to work with the day crew in the afternoon and then continue at night with the exhibits pitching in themselves.

Least to say he was irritated and starting to be in a bad mood as he made his normal rounds before grabbing the caddy that held cleaning supplies as he head off to the next exhibit on the list Dr. McPhee gave him to do. Apparently, the first night guard who had to deal with the tablet's nightly magic had put it in the job's contract that the night guard did most of the exhibit cleaning during their shift.

Leaving Larry heading off to dust and polish and scrub while the exhibits did their own cleaning and fussing, preferring to do it themselves then to allow the day crew to do anything.

There were specific instructions on how to clean certain parts of certain exhibits, the typed out pages in a thick binder filled with numerous notes from Cecil and the previous night guards.

Dexter had stolen it.

Now Larry was fumbling with a spray bottle of some cleaning solution that was really hard to pronounce the name of, dig his cell phone out of his pocket and trying to find the right key to unlock a couple display cases. And then proceeded to walk into a wall...it was going to be a long night...

xxx

Theodore Roosevelt truly enjoyed spring cleaning night, a chance to get his hands dirty as he fully brushed out Texas, and got to polish his boots and swords and medals.

This time was no different as he sat on a bench in a little used hallway, it was mostly used as a divider and access to a fire exit. Right now it was his work area as he preferred silence instead of the music Nicky was playing in the lobby as he helped anyway he could. Larry was off with Ahkmenrah, cleaning the wall of hieroglyphics with air cans and soft cloths to avoid damaging the reliefs. Even if they were replicas they were still delicate and expensive.

While it had already been four months since Larry had taken his position as the museum's night guard, and since Ahkmenrah had been let out of the sarcophagus, i was still always a bit touchy with interacting with the king. The young pharaoh had been accepted into the museum family happily, and it was now almost a requirement for him to be out and about most nights instead of hiding in his exhibit, doesn't mean he made it easy.

Sighing softly as he scrubbed at his sword to work the polish into the metal, Teddy let his thoughts wander, especially to a pretty Shoshone woman a couple halls over.

Or so he thought until he suddenly realized his thoughts had led him to cease his polishing and become completely oblivious to anyone around him. That and Sacajawea could move almost silently so her suddenly sitting beside him shouldn't have been that surprising.

"Oh! My dear you startled me."

She smiled coyly, settling on the bench cross-legged before undoing her twin braids, running her fingers through the midnight black locks to untangle them.

Teddy could only sit and stare at her, watching her comb through her hair with her fingers before glancing back to him, smirking at his rather dazed expression.

"...comb?"

The president shook himself slightly, blushing a little at having completely missed her words.

"What was that my dear?"

"May I borrow your comb?" She pointed to the black comb he'd grabbed from the box Larry had set out for those wanting one, and when he handed it to her she nodded gratefully, ignoring his slight jump when their fingers brushed.

They continued their "fussing", as Larry had put it, in silence for several minutes, Sacajawea combing her hair out and smoothing the soft strands, while Teddy finished polishing his sword and began to fuss with the lapels of his shirt.

She chuckled when his attempting at perfecting the creases failed and he managed to create an awkward fold, with a slight smirk he turned when she reached to fix it, letting her smaller fingers tug the stiff fabric back into place properly.

"There..."

"Th-thank you."

Sacajawea smiled, turning so her back was to him and passing back the comb, "Could you help me with the part please?"

Teddy gaped like a fish for a moment as she waited, holding back a laugh at his hesitation. When he finally took the comb and began to part her hair, his hand was shaking slightly.

Once he finished, she quickly braided the two lengths, tucking them back into the worn leather loops and making sure the beads were not tangled.

He watched her in admiring silence, smiling even wider when she met his gaze. The dark chocolate eyes were the most gorgeous things he'd ever seen...

Neither one knew when it happened, it just sort of did...one moment they were staring, the next...

Teddy felt like he could fly.

"Last call everybody, five minutes until sunrise, places please."

The loud interruption of the intercom broke them apart, Sacajawea smiling before rushing back to her hall on the other side of the museum.

Teddy still sat shocked for a couple minutes before finally getting up, walking back to Texas and their podium in the front lobby as if he was walking on clouds.

Ahkmenrah glanced to him curiously as he passed, the president completely oblivious to the pharaoh's wave.

Larry caught on quick enough though, chuckling as he walked to his post, outright laughing when his first attempt at mounting failed.

"Fun night Teddy?"

The former president settled in the saddle, lifting his sword as he adjusted the reins in his hand legs squeezing Texas' sides lightly to get him into the right spot.

"I don't know what you're talking about Lawrence."

"Sure."

"Good day Lawrence."

"See ya tonight Teddy, oh and Teddy?"

"Yes?"

"You're blushing."

The blush remained on Teddy's face even as the sun rose and the wax was set, and if anyone noticed they didn't say.

Rebecca did note later the next day during a tour session that the frozen look in Sacajawea's eyes was just a little too sweet...

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below!  
**


	4. Mugs are for Coffee Part One

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To Huskygirl1998: O.O whoa neat idea! I am Merry Christmas, so back atcha, and Happy Holidays to everyone! Thank you!**

**To Guest 1: Yeah, wanted a cute way to end the story so the remaining blush would be the best as anything else would get Larry in trouble. Thank you!**

**To Guest 2: The inner dynamics of the museum and its inhabitants relationships are fun to do, it will be fun to explore! Thank you!**

**To TMNT Fan: Yes, the miniatures need a "bigger" part, working them into this two part drabble. ;) Thank you!**

**To _flick windsnap, gotoRoomgirl, , FullMoonPhoenixShadow, wolfrain5898, muffins and sprinkles, Batman91939, Elven Jedi Companion, GalaxyGirl317_: Thank you so much for the follows and faves!  
**

******Thank you to Bookworm Gal for the main idea, and ImLostForever for the idea of human clothes, the fighting was researched online so if it's a bit off I apologize, This will be a two part!********

* * *

**Chapter Four, part One  
**

**Mugs are for Coffee  
**

Xxx _August__  
_

Thank whatever deity that cared to listen there was coffee always available somewhere in New York. The last month of night shifts had been long and grueling, even with summer having shorter nights Larry's job didn't get easier. Nicky was busy like none other in sports and summer fun, meaning on Larry's days he was running all over the place.

Then worked eight hours at the craziest job in the world. Summer fever had even hit some of the exhibits, especially the animals, driving them up the walls, (in some cases literally) and driving everyone else nuts. Even Teddy's amazing patience was wearing thin, he and Ahkmenrah had brought it up to Larry to let the tablet be inactive for one night just so everyone would settle down.

The night guard was seriously considering it as he left the museum after another long night. He'd given up and had outright restrained the animals in the Hall of African Mammals, shutting down and locking up a couple of the wings for the night, including the Mammoth and the Ocean World. Needless to say Dexter hadn't been happy to be put back into the hall so early and had proceeded to complain along with all the others for a good hour before they all gave up and fell silent.

Everyone was getting frustrated, and Larry had to think of something quick to deal with it, watching the others tonight help round up the animals and straighten the museum back into order only proved that fact. Teddy was getting worn out from all the chaos, both he and Sacajawea hadn't had time to themselves for weeks as they'd been helping Larry maintain order, or at least keep everyone inside, order was beginning to slip. Larry even saw Ahkmenrah getting frustrated, and trying to keep a level head and keep others from seeing him lose it.

They were all at their wit's end...

It was a hot, humid, foggy morning in New York. A tropical storm had blown North up the Atlantic coast, dying down and losing some of its strength, but not the moisture, and was currently proceeding to drench the city and make it a warm gross mess.

Larry was soaked within minutes, dragging his feet already from exhaustion and still having to run errands before going to bed.

xxx

Two blocks from his apartment in the lower end of the area, he never saw the first fist coming, and after that it was too much of rain soaked blur to tell what happened for him to end up curled on the ground against an alley wall, struggling to breathe and wondering what time it was.

A slow inspection of his being found his cell phone smashed beyond recognition, probably got dropped and stomped on. His watch was gone, his apartment keys missing, his wallet emptied of all but his library card. And he hurt like none other.

The walk the rest of the way home was the worst of his life, the landlord could have cared less when Larry let him know he'd have to replace the lock on the door, just said get the money for the replacement as soon as possible.

Calling the bank and credit card companies to cancel his cards took hours, as did trying to clean himself up enough to go to work. It was no use doing more than that, he never got a look at his attackers so why bother with the authorities?

xxx

He moved almost glacier slow as he locked everything up, glad summer hours meant sunset was a bit later so he could get things done between clocking in and everything waking up for other night. The Hall of African Mammals was his last stop, and by this point he was limping and trying really hard to stay upright, his entire body just throbbing. He groaned softly as the warmth in the air shifted from summer heat to the tablet's nightly power, the familiar growling beginning behind him as he turned to see the lions stepping off their platform, the male snarling angrily.

Trying to talk the five hundred pound male down was hopeless, his throat was killing him and his voice came out as a croak. He tried to back up slowly, unfortunately he clipped his shoulder on the half opened gate and crashed to the ground at the pain the impact caused. Larry didn't know which was louder, the lion's roar as he lunged or his own yell at just how much it hurt to hit the floor like that.

He closed his eyes to not see it, knowing for a fact the teeth in the lion's jaws were all real and all sharp.

Wasn't expecting the main lioness to nuzzle his cheek, chuffing until he rolled onto his side with a groan and slowly sat up. The animals were crowded around him quietly, lending warmth to his aching body as he shoved himself back against the wall to have something to lean against. It hurt to breathe, hurt to move, hurt to blink, hell it hurt to exist...

xxx

Theodore Roosevelt smirked as he watched Ahkmenrah drop into the chair behind the main desk, spinning slightly to keep from hitting anything within reach. The pharaoh groaned as he dropped his head onto his folded arms, shoulders slumped as the president patted his back encouragingly.

"Ocean World contained?"

"For now, the whales are rather loud this evening..."

The president nodded in agreement, tugging an ear as the haunted sounding calls echoed through the halls.

"Has anyone seen Gigantor this evenin'?"

Both turned to see Jed leaning on the rack full of maps, and shook their heads, no one had seen the night guard yet.

"Probably rounding up the African Mammals, they're the farthest from the security office, would take him the longest."

Jed shrugged, waving as he headed off to entertain Rexy for the night. Ahk set his head back down as the whale calls increased in volume, groaning softly at the most likely building headache.

The two remained there in silence for several minutes, trying to decide which issue to tackle first...

When all the echoing, howling, roaring, and noise just stopped, leaving an eery silence.

"Well that's either really good or really bad."

Ahkmenrah nodded as he stood up, both turning to the stairs when Luna, the white tigress, appeared at the top, hissing impatiently. Neither moved as she stalked down to them, circling them anxiously and chuffing.

"Ahkmenrah..."

"Yes?"

"Any ideas?"

"The tablet is upstairs..."

Luna picked up on their anxiousness, settling down with her body language before stepping forward, lightly shoving Teddy towards the stairs by pushing against his legs with her shoulder. Ahk was given the same treatment, both being forced to move quickly as the tigress' insistence grew.

Neither fought back, Luna may be the tamest cat, but she was also the deadliest, being lighter, faster, and had the sharpest claws. She guided them up the stairs and towards the Hall of African Mammals, starting to growl as they neared it to make the two to move faster.

When they turned the last corner, they finally saw why.

xxx

It wasn't until close to two am that Larry finally managed to open his eyes again. Actually only really opened one, the other was swollen shut and unmoving.

A sigh slid from his lips before he tried to sit up and figure out how the heck he ended up on the pull out couch in the security office when he distinctly remembered trying to lock up the lions.

Two sets of hands pushed him back down, the words sounding fuzzy before his aching head cleared enough to hear properly.

Ahkmenrah sat next to him, holding an ice pack out for him to press against his eye as he met the pharaoh's and Teddy's gazes.

"Uh...hi guys. Nice night?"

Teddy looked anything but joking, "Lawrence...what happened, half the museum is tense and staying put, the other half is worried sick after seeing Ahkmenrah and I carry you down here. You'd passed out my good man, what in god's name happened?"

"It's New York Teddy, got mugged on my way home from work. No big deal-"

Ahk's grip on his shoulder tightened as he sat up, and almost fell over with his spinning vision.

"Oh boy..."

The two historical figures helped him sit back, moving pillows to support him as he groaned softly. Man he was sore...

"How bad is it?"

Teddy sighed softly, "You have a concussion, a mild one but I wouldn't suggest moving right now. Your eyes is a rather fantastic shade of purple, but the swelling should be gone by morning if you use the ice. Bruises and a few cuts, nothing more, but Lawrence do not take this lightly. You could have been much more seriously hurt!"

"I know!" He coughed, changing his tone after snapped, "I know Teddy...there's not much I can do...didn't see the muggers so police can't do anything, already took care of everything that was stolen-"

The dual intake of air made Larry sigh again, and he moved the ice pack enough to glance at both of them. Ahk looked worried and anxious while Teddy just looked downright furious.

"Pharaoh if you would be so kind as to stay with Lawrence here, I shall go settle the masses leaning on the door and get everyone back to their places."

"Teddy! Wait, I'm fine! I can take care of things-"

Larry somehow managed to stumble to his feet before collapsing, his legs giving out in time for Ahk to catch him and keep him from falling to the floor.

"Or not..."

The president grunted softly, nodding when Ahkmenrah helped Larry back to the couch to rest.

"Thanks Ahk."

The pharaoh hummed in response, settling next to him silently as he laid there, holding the ice pack to his face to ease the pain. Dumb idea to blow this off, dumb idea to think he could get through the night without questions, dumb all around...

He was honestly too exhausted to care at this point, wincing when he jumped at the sound of angry yells out in the hall. Ahk stood and shut the door again, blocking out most of the noises. Apparently Teddy had broken the news and no one was taking it well...

xxx

Limping down the the front doors to unlock them for the morning staff, Larry waved as Ahkmenrah returned to his exhibit, the pharaoh nodding in parting before heading up the stairs, having not said a word all night to the guard.

Teddy was mounting Texas when he arrived, watching Larry carefully before glancing up to Ahkmenrah at the railing on the second floor. Both shared a short nod that the night guard never saw before Ahk disappeared into his exhibit.

Larry clocked out as dawn was seconds away, Teddy settling in the saddle and drawing his sword.

"Teddy-"

"Good day Lawrence."

Sunrise kept either one from continuing, but the president's tone only made it even more clear just how everyone thought of the situation. Larry knew the smile on the wax figures face was fake, even if no one else did.

In all honesty, the next night was the one Larry was dreading.

xxx

Erica and Don blew a gasket when he came to see Nicky the next afternoon, he had come to say he wasn't going to be able to take Nicky back to his apartment for awhile, at least until a new lock was installed. They insisted the boy wouldn't be going with Larry until he lived in a better part of town.

He didn't blame them, heck he agreed after a few seconds, it wasn't safe there and with a new and higher paying job he could afford it. It was just a matter of finding the right place and time to move.

Returning to the museum that night was not something he wanted to do, but it had to be done.

Everyone was awake and moving by the time he arrived, he'd had to call his insurance company to let them know he'd be moving and then the bank had called him back, dragging his arrival time back even farther.

Luckily things hadn't gone to hell within the twenty minutes he was late. Instead everyone acted like one wrong move would break the night guard. And to them it made sense, every night for decades they'd wake up after sundown, and were practically immortal. Night guards...not so much, a visible sign of how fragile true humans were unnerved them.

Teddy met him at the security office, leading him silently to Ahkmenrah's exhibit where the pharaoh, Attila, and both miniature empire leaders were waiting.

"Uh...hey guys...what's going on?"

"Lawrence, we've all discussed it and are in agreement, you are too valuable to not only the museum but to us as well."

"Guys-"

"Shut up Gigantor, we ain't done!"

The night guard shut his mouth, looking to each of them, the residual anger at him being harmed was still there from the night before, but there was also genuine concern that surprised him.

"My liege, you not only guard the museum's valuable artifacts, but you also ensure our safety as well, keeping us in and others out so the secret is not revealed and possible harm comes to any of us. Your job is highly respected, and your position among us even more so."

Larry stood stunned, looking to all of them "I...really? I mean c'mon guys, most of my job is keeping you guys from fighting with each and with _me_. I'm just the night guard."

"No you are not Larry, you keep this museum and its occupants in line, you keep this secret safe from those who would mean us harm, and you helped me as well." Ahkmenrah shifted slightly, a faint smile on his face before going serious again.

"R-really?"

Teddy crossed his arms over his chest, "Lawrence, we all say you are valuable here, just as worth protecting as we are, right?"

"Hell ya!"

"I swear by Jupiter himself it is so."

Attila grunt, "Tiim"

"Aywa"

Ahk's voice was softest, but also the surest, none of them looking a bit hesitant or joking as Larry looked around again before sighing in defeat.

"Alright...now what's going on, you had to have pulled me here for something."

Teddy laughed, "To discuss something of utmost importance lad!"

"And that is."

"The start of your training."

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
**


	5. Mats are for Falling Part Two

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To Huskygirl1998: Thank you! That is a neat idea!**

**To Guest: Thank you! Oh yes he's loved and trusted even when he left before the second movie. :)**

**To Anon: Wow thank you! I don't know what Ao3 is...yeah I reread chapters after a couple days and realize oh hey that's not right. I do eventually go back and edit. Thanks! And yes the night life is pretty busy for this night guard.**

**To _AwesomeHellee9, Sapphire Pirate, Seanchow806Napoleonic, Theluckyturtle, Anala, DoctorWho53, GrezzWizard, Troth, Aqua79, Dragonninja-fan, MssCassandra_: Thank you so much for the and follows faves!  
**

******Thank you to Bookworm Gal for the main idea, and ImLostForever for the idea of human clothes, the fighting was researched online so if it's a bit off I apologize, This will be a two part!********

* * *

**Chapter Five, part Two  
**

**Mats are for Falling  
**

Xxx _August__  
_

Training...

Not what Larry had in mind when the others had said they would be helping him. Either way he had no choice but to go with it...

Right now though he was packing up the last of his belongings to move across town to an apartment only five minutes from the museum, McPhee had given him the night off as long as he came in to lock up then returned in the morning to open everything back up, even the director was worried about the night guard and had helped find him an apartment within a couple days. Teddy promised him things would be kept in order to allow him a night to move, that way Nicky would be able to return to spending time with his dad and come back to the museum.

Larry sighed as he taped up the last box, glancing around at the few measly stacks and a couple plastic bins. He honestly didn't have a lot, it would probably only take two trips with Don's hummer, the bonds trader having loaned it to him save on time and money for him to move. Maybe three trips...his mattress was a little old but still had enough life in it to not give as much as he would like to stack things on it.

A knock on his door made him pause and glance at the clock, quarter past twelve, who in the heck was up and about in his apartment building after midnight? Stupid question, he lived in the lower end..._everyone_ was up and about after midnight...

With slow steps he went to the door, peering in the peep hole carefully, not seeing very well as the one eye still bruised was the one he would technically use. What he could see made him falter before yanking the door open and pulling the late night visitor inside in a flash.

"Ahkmenrah?! What the-Are you crazy?! What are you doing here? You need to get back to the museum!"

"Larry, it's fine-"

"Like hell it is!"

The pharaoh sighed, crossing his arms in mild irritation, that's when Larry noticed he was wearing "normal" clothes, a t-shirt under a loose button up, jeans, and converse. All traces of anything Egyptian were gone.

"Ok...what are your doing here?"

"Helping you, the others and I agreed that with only one night to transfer residencies you needed assistance."

"So you left the museum? You do know that's a bad thing right?"

"Only at sunrise, there are still several hours between now and then."

Larry sighed, leading Ahk further into his apartment, "But why? I mean I appreciate the offer, but Ahk-"

"Larry."

He turned around, the light and almost energetic attitude the pharaoh had had when he walked in was gone, now he was serious, "This isn't just to help you move."

The night guard sighed again, nodding and keeping his mouth shut, the historical figures weren't just helping him move and get things settled, they were doing the best they could to protect him. Teddy would be the easiest to blend in, but could also keep the museum in line the best. Attila had the best ability to protect the night guard, but would be lousy in public. And while Jed and Octavius would try...it wouldn't work. Ahkmenrah was the best option. No arguments.

"Alright fine, the car's by the lobby door, we'll take the elevator down and load it up before heading across town."

Ahk copied him when he picked up a box, following him out of the apartment before Larry paused and glanced at the pharaoh. "You have no idea what I just said do you?"

"No, not really."

"Gotcha."

xxx

The first trip across town was easy, the boxes loaded well and moving them into the new apartment was quick. The second trip was the same, only the mattress to Larry's bed and a few boxes were left, Nicky's bed had already gone over.

Loading the hummer for the last trip was the worst, Larry's mattress wouldn't fit in the elevator like it had when he bought it and moved it up by himself, meaning the two had to trek down the stairs with the stupid thing. Ahk did so without complaint, even though when Larry had yanked the mattress out of the door at the bottom of the stairs after it got stuck, the pharaoh had still been holding it and almost got rammed into the door frame.

The two had been talking the entire time, mostly Ahk asking basic questions about things he was seeing in the modern world, and Larry giving explanations the best he could. By the third trip they were tired, it was four thirty in the morning and even the thrill of being out in the outside world had worn off for Ahkmenrah. Once the mattress was in Larry's new bedroom, they let it drop to the floor before falling onto it simultaneously.

Ahk made a soft noise, draping an arm over his eyes to block out the light even though there wasn't any. Larry smirked as he lay on his side, the one that wasn't bruised to the point where the skin was purple.

"You do realize we have to get up and get back to the museum soon."

His reply was a muffled groan as Ahk buried his head in his arm, not showing any inclination to move anytime soon.

Larry chuckled, "C'mon, gotta get back...ow..."

Ahk sat up in a flash when the night guard winced, holding a hand to his bruised ribs as his sitting up had hurt.

"Are you alright?"

The night guard nodded, "Yeah...just gonna be pretty sore for awhile."

Ahkmenrah hummed softly, standing and helping Larry to his feet carefully.

"Then I suggest we leave now so you can rest."

xxx

xx

xxx

Larry stretched as he entered the museum for his shift two weeks later, the last of the bruises were now just a faint yellow, nothing hurt and the move had been successful. Nicky was jogging beside him, anxious to see everyone again and just about bouncing off the walls since they'd arrived late.

"Ahk!"

"Nicholas!"

The pharaoh was just readying to leave when they stepped into the exhibit, Larry having to duck a spear point before Ahk corrected the jackals.

"I hear you got to leave the museum for a night."

Ahk chuckled, wrapping an arm around Nicky's shoulder as he lead the two of them to another part of the museum, "Yes, I helped your father move, will admit the shoes were weird."

"Shoes?"

"Ahk got to where modern clothes Nicky."

"Oh cool!"

The pharaoh shrugged, "I wouldn't say cool, more like..."

"Weird, huh?"

Larry froze, several thick moving blankets had been laid out as a makeshift mat over the floor, but that's not what made him pause, more like who.

Jed stood on one side of the mat, dressed in just his work jeans, button down shirt, and hat, everything else was piled off to the side on a bench where Octavius was waiting in sweatpants and tshirt.

"The tablet made us big fer the night Gigantor, Ockie and are teachin' ya first."

"Teaching me what?"

"How to defend yourself, Guardian of Brooklyn."

Larry turned around to see Ahk had changed out of his Egyptian wear and into sweatpants and a tshirt as well.

"And why this sudden interest?"

"Lawrence must we remind you about our conversation a few weeks ago?" Teddy asked as he came up behind them, holding out a set of workout clothes Larry knew he hadn't brought with him. Ahk must have snuck them out of the box when he helped move the night guard's belongings. That or Nicky's failed stifling of laughter had something to do with. He really needed to either monitor or unplug the museum phones at night.

"Ok...fine, doesn't mean I'll like this."

xxx

Two hours later and Larry was exhausted, but Jed looked just plain amused. They hadn't switched to Octavius yet because it wasn't looking like Larry would get it anytime soon.

Jed was teaching basic and rapid fire fighting, Oct and Ahk would teach weapons, at least enough to use just about anything within reach to try and bring harm to an assailant, then the pharaoh would finish off his lessons with more sophisticated hand to hand. Attila and Teddy were there to make sure Lawrence had plenty of hints and aid, and also to pull him back to his feet every time he went down.

It was becoming a rather common thing for him to hit the mat.

"Shoot Gigantor, I'd hate to see ya in a bar fight or sumthin'."

Larry only groaned in response as Attila pulled him back upright, patting his back hard enough to almost knock him over again. Nicky and Octavius had given up on maintaining what was left of Larry's confidence and had taken to laughing hysterically. Even Ahkmenrah was finding it hard to keep a straight face.

"I take it back...I _really_ don't like this."

Jed shrugged, cocking a hip slightly and crossing his arms as he waited for Larry to go at him again. The night guard stood watching him for a minute, catching his breath before taking a swing at the cowboy.

"Hit high!"

At the last second, Larry jerked his arm up higher, and caught the edge of Jed's hat when he tried to duck.

The cowboy smirked, "Well now that was bett'r."

Larry glanced to Ahk, nodding gratefully for the tip before bracing himself for Jed's retaliation. The cowboy swung a fist towards his shoulder, and he managed to duck it barely.

"Low!"

That time there was no hesitation, and his arm collided with Jed's stomach with all his weight behind it as his center of gravity was off and the cowboy went down.

Jed coughed as he stood up, brushing himself off as he held his side, "Damn..."

"Jed! I-"

He had to quickly move to avoid a fast swing, staring in disbelief as Jed chuckled.

"Now we're talkin'."

xxx

With someone occasionally calling out tips Larry managed to hold his own with Jed, getting the basic idea of fighting down within the next hour before Octavius stepped up, passing Larry and blunted and padded short sword.

The weapons lesson failed spectacularly and it was agreed to never give Larry anything resembling a sword, dagger, or knife ever again. Instead they moved right to Ahkmenrah, Jed and Octavius leaving to change back into normal clothes before the tablet's power wore off, it was only supposed to hold for half the night and even then the pharaoh had been guessing on it.

Teddy had left to keep the museum in line, and to supervise Nicky riding Rexy while Jed and Octavius drove the "bone mobile" around the halls. Leaving the night guard alone with Ahk when Attila left to find something more entertaining to do.

Ahk was less hands on in his teaching, showing and guiding Larry through several forms before making him do them, demonstrating and performing with him to make sure he got it. Muscles aching and body wanting sleep, Larry was almost ready to drop, then something he did during the physical half of Ahk's lesson made the pharaoh react accordingly.

They'd just moved to using the forms to fight one another, Ahk varying between fast and slow going to keep Larry from screwing up. The night guard had just feinted and made to swing and arm out to catch the pharaoh's impending hit, when he missed and ended up swiping at Ahk's legs.

Ahkmenrah grunted, old memories making him spin away and yank his...something from his belt and make to swipe it at Larry's neck, not catching his deadly mistake in time.

Larry reacted accordingly, jerking his mag lite from his own belt and catching the curved blade before it could get too close.

The pharaoh froze, eyes panicked as his brain caught up with his actions and the fact that he almost killed the night guard.

"Oh by Ra..."

"Don't stop."

Ahk hesitated, and Larry took the once in what seemed like a lifetime chance, shoving the blade away with his flashlight and swinging a fist at Ahk's shoulder. The pharaoh blocked it, making to drop his blade before having to jerk it back up to avoid getting clocked in the head with the heavy flashlight.

The two fought in a smooth dance, Ahk adjusting his style to compensate for Larry's lack of experience. The night guard fell into the rhythm of the fighting dance like he'd done it a hundred times. Shouldn't surprise him, the tablet brought everything to life, would make sense it would affect the night guard like it had others.

Larry was just getting really good at matching Ahk's moves, getting a few decent ones himself as well, when the sound of applause broke their concentrations and Ahk's next swing came too fast for Larry to block, having to drop to the ground instead. He rolled to his feet without thinking, popping the mag lite up and catching the blade and twisting down when the curve caught against the bulb hub.

Ahk shouted in Egyptian, shocked as he stepped back. Larry had effectively disarmed him, yanking the blade from his hand without so much as striking his wrist or body to do so.

"Well done Lawrence!"

The night guard looked around, half the museum watching him and cheering him on as he caught his breath, he glanced down at the mag lite in his hand, smirking as everything caught up with him.

Ahkmenrah picked his blade up, sheathing it back on his belt before stepping closer.

"Larry."

"Yeah?"

"If you ever find yourself once more in a fight against a Khopesh..."

"Yeah..."

"Do that again."

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
**

**Anyone catch my spoiler?**


	6. Larry I shrunk (blank)

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To _Huskygirl1998_: Thank you! Teddy/Sacajawea, Merenkahre/Shepsehert, and historical matches to others. Otherwise I let other authors dabble in shipping characters. I like them, just not good at them. No! Never stop! They're all awesome questions which would be awesome to use in the future! Thank you!  
**

******Here's to Everyone wanting more Jedidiah Smith and Gaius Octavius********

**"Anything in Egyptian that I can't find a translation of easily will be in Dialogue Italics"**

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**Chapter Six  
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**Larry...I shrunk (blank)  
**

Xxx _December__  
_

Nicky loved winter break! It was honestly his second favorite time of the year besides summer. Especially this year since Don's company was sending all the top ranking employees and their spouses on a cruise to the Bahamas, meaning Nicky got to stay with his dad and go to the museum every night for a couple weeks.

For the past six nights he'd spent his time with various exhibits, just having the time of his life. By the end of the first week, the thrill wasn't gone, but finding new things that could occupy the long night hours was becoming an interesting challenge.

xxx

In all honesty and some very serious hindsight, playing chess with Jed and Octavius wasn't the wisest idea...

Nicky was usually the opponent since both knew how to play very well, so they'd switch back and forth who competed against who. Then Nicky would move the pieces when the two miniatures went against each other, Jed and Oct sitting on opposite shoulders to have clear vantage points.

Then they somehow lost one of the knights, so Jed took it's place. Hence why this wasn't a good idea in the long run.

Nicky sighed as he rested his chin in one hand, watching the two diorama leaders argue over who was the better chess player. Both were excellent at it if they could see the board fully, but being only a inch or so taller than the pieces themselves didn't help.

The boy sighed as he glanced around the Hall of Miniatures, watching a pair of Roman chariots race around the room as fast as the small horses could go, the drivers laughing and shouting joyfully. In the Old West Diorama, women were having a wash day and the camp was covered with strung up ropes and flapping clothes. Nicky wasn't sure where they got the water for that...then again there was a lot about the miniature worlds that were confusing to him.

Neither small leader noticed his distraction, they did however notice when another museum inhabitant wandered into the Hall of Miniatures, and trouble was the only thing there.

"Oh no."

"Dext'r! Ya bett'r put that down!"

Nicky turned to see why the two were panicking, and found the Capuchin monkey holding Ahkmenrah's tablet, chittering loudly as if laughing.

He stood slowly, crouching and moving towards the monkey with extreme patience, trying not to startle the primate as he settled on his haunches, watching the human closely.

"Easy now Nicky, slow like, don't move to fast."

"Jedidiah would you shut up!

Nicky ignored them, reaching a hand out cautiously to grab the tablet as he was within inches of reaching Dexter.

Rexy roared from somewhere else in the museum, making Nicky lunge forward as Dexter jumped up and took off. He fell to the floor as Jed and Octavius yelled out, he scrambled to his feet and took off running after the monkey.

They wove through the halls and other exhibits, Nicky sometimes gaining rather significantly at times and others losing the Capuchin completely before finding him again.

Finally he cornered the monkey next to the closed gates to the Hall of African Mammals, Dexter was small enough to slip between the bars if he wanted to.

Dexter squeaked, hopping onto a bench against the wall as Nicky crept closer.

He was within three feet of the edge of the gate, ten feet from the monkey when Dexter decided he was bored with this game and jumped onto the gate to disappear inside the exhibit. Nicky lunged forward to catch him before he could, not realizing that in the process of leaping...

Dexter dropped the tablet.

The clanging crash it made as it hit the floor echoed in Nicky's ears as it glowed white hot, the flash making him fall to the ground as he blacked out.

xxx

Nicky wasn't sure what woke him up, the ringing in his ears, the cold floor beneath him, or the gloved hands shaking him slightly.

"Nicholas for the love of Jupiter and Neptune please open your eyes!"

That made him wince, rubbing at his head as he sat up and looked around.

Wasn't expecting to see Jed crouched in front of him and looking him the eye.

"Wha-"

Looking around frantically he found it wasn't a trick, the slight pain in his head let him know he wasn't dreaming. He was miniature sized...

Jedidiah breathed a rather loud sigh of relief as he helped the kid up, brushing him down and performing a quick inspection of the kid's well-being.

"Aw man! Gigantor's gonna kill us!"

"Now Jedidiah, let us not be hasty, this was not even our fault! Mostly..."

Nicky chuckled, watching Jed rip his hat off and run a hand through his blonde hair, looking flustered and frustrated as he paced. "Mostly?! We were supposed ta watch 'im! Now what we gonna do?! Ahkmenrah's with the president and Larry on the oth'r side o' the museum, would take us half the night to get there let 'lone find 'em!"

"Calm down! We will just get someone else to go find them, someone taller."

"An' how in tarnation do ya expect ta do that?! No one can hear us from down 'ere!"

"Oh."

"Guys!"

They finally turned to the shrunken kid, he was half their height of three inches, _tiny_...

"Let's just go back to the Hall of Miniatures, Dad said he'd come get me when his meeting with Teddy and Ahk was done. We'll just wait it out. Someone's going to figure something's up 'cause the tablet's laying the floor over there."

Jed and Octavius turned, seeing the bright gold artifact indeed resting on the floor next to the bench, now sitting inactive and perfectly normal.

"Ah shoot! Let's go...Gigantor won't know where ta look if he can't find us."

Nicky smiled as Jed and Octavius led him back to where Jed's paint horse and Octavius pair of bays harnessed to a chariot were waiting.

He was helped onto the chariot, Jed using a length of rope to fashion a makeshift belt of Nicky to stay on the chariot as Octavius fixed the reins and got on behind him.

"Why can't I ride with you Jed?"

"Ya know how ta ride a horse?"

"No."

"That's why."

"Then teach me."

The cowboy sighed as he mounted, swinging up on the saddle with ease. "Not t'nite Nick."

His groan made Octavius chuckle as the Roman flicked the reins, getting his horses moving to take them back to the Diorama Hall within a decent amount of time. Jed rode slightly ahead of them, keeping quiet as he fumed, probably mad at himself for letting Nicky come to harm

"Wait, how do you guys get the horses off the Dioramas?"

"There are tunnels and lifts beneath both the Old West and Roman Empire displays, that is how we get around mostly as then we get into the infrastructure of the museum and can move much faster. I would be greatly concerned for the tablet's secret if someone ever tore into some of the museum walls."

Nicky laughed, rocking with the motions of the chariot as the horses trotted calmly down the halls. To him the hooves were clacking and a little loud, but just earlier that night he couldn't hear them. What a difference, no wonder the Miniatures didn't like being around others so much, normal noises to Nick were like thunderous roars to these guys.

Jed's horse only burdened with one rider versus the pair hooked to the harness and pulling a chariot, pulled ahead of them by a good foot, it wasn't even a full step for Nicky normally but now it seemed like far away.

Or at least far enough...

"Hey Octavius?"

"Hmm?"

"How long will it take to get back at this pace?"

"A good while, we are quite a distance from the Hall. Should arrive though before your father does, with not much time to spare so we must not delay."

"What if we go faster, would we have enough time for you to show me Rome then?"

The general thought for a moment before glancing down at the smirking boy, grinning himself as he wrapped the reins around his arms like Nicky had seen drivers do in old Roman movies. Octavius shifted their positions to better balance the chariot before glancing up to Jedidiah ahead of them.

"Ready?"

"Yep."

xxx

Jedidiah was completely lost in his thoughts, mad at Dexter, mad at the tablet, mad at himself. When Nicky had arrived in the Diorama room earlier, Larry had asked Jed to keep an eye on him and to make sure if he got tired he at least rested on the bench in the room if he wouldn't go to the security office, the night guard didn't want Nicky getting too worn out and falling sick over his vacation. And now what was Jed supposed to do? Larry was trusting him with his son and now this!

He was sufficiently pissed and distracted now, knowing his steady horse wouldn't wander from its duty to go back home.

Least to say he wasn't expecting the Roman horses to go thundering past him with Octavius driving them faster and Nicky howling like a buffoon.

"What in the hell?!"

"Race ya Jed!"

"Rome for the win!"

The cowboy smirked, adjusting his hat before letting his horse have its head and catch up with them, it wasn't easy. Octaivius' bays were strong and fast, meant to pull the chariot into battles and shove past lines of armored men. Jed's stallion was just a little faster...

The trip that should have taken an hour at an easy trot, took them ten minutes at an all out gallop. The two older men reining in the panting horses as they reached the door to the Diorama Hall, letting the horses walk the rest of the way to cool down.

"We won."

"Did not!"

"We most certainly did! You were half a pace behind us!"

"Only 'cause I let ya ahead til the last!"

"Oh whatever!"

Nicky laughed at their gentle bickering, looking around the room and waving to the other miniatures when they turned to see the night guard's son now shrunk down to their size.

Jed was hesitant but finally consented to showing Nicky the labyrinth of modifications the Miniatures had done to the underbelly of the Old West Diorama. Showing off especially the plumbing engineering they'd come up with with Rome's help. A tiny leak in a pipe that fed a water fountain on the outer hallway was masked by a series of straws stuck up to catch the water and deposit it in a foam cup, giving the miniatures access to water regularly. Also included was a lift that led up to both Dioramas at once, a section of the Old West Mountain swung out on Jed's side and on the Rome side it led into a building that served as the stables.

Rather clever in Nicky's mind. After caring for the horses, Octavius and Jed showed Nicky around Rome first as the ladies of the Old West were still shooing all the men away so they could finish laundry. Nicky was entranced, listening intently as Octavius regaled him of tales of Ancient Rome and its past leaders.

The night wore on as Jed lead them to his area, showing Nicky around with a gentle smile that Octavius knew very few received. Nicky knew little about Jed's Diorama so his questions were just about endless, and the cowboy was more than happy to answer them.

He even got Nicky up on another horse, this one a rich gold palomino belonging to Jedidiah's second, Will. The cowboy gave impromptu riding lessons for a good hour, neither him nor the boy noticing the passing time, they didn't even notice when Larry ducked his head into the hall.

"Nicky?"

Octavius cringed, running to the edge of the Old West Diorama and shouting for the night guard, not that he heard the Roman...

"Rats...You there! Caleb!"

The cowboy on the main floor glanced up, waving to the general, "Yeah?"

"Fetch the night guard, his son is indeed here!"

"Will do!"

Twenty minutes later Larry stalked back in, anger on his face but also a good deal of parental concern as he kneeled in front of Octavius at the Old West Diorama.

"Where's my son?"

"Right here Gigantor."

Jed had an arm wrapped around Nicky's shoulder as he led him closer, the boy all smiles, face flushed from excitement.

"Hey dad!"

"Nick?!"

"Yep! Dexter stole the tablet, so I chased him, then he dropped it, big flash of light and wham! Woke up like this! And this place is so cool! Dad you-hey Whoa!"

Jed and Octavius, while not thrilled with being picked up without being asked first, were used to it and clung to Larry's hand expertly, Nicky on the other hand had to cling to Jed to remain balanced as Larry rushed out the of Hall carrying them, hollering for Teddy and Ahkmenrah.

xxx

The pharaoh was just getting ready to begin removing his royal garb that he didn't wear while in the sarcophagus, with half an hour to sunrise he was a bit surprised to see Jed and Octavius, and then he recognized Nicky standing in his father's hand.

"Oh no..."

Both Ahk and Larry glanced to the wall where the tablet was supposed to be hanging, and it was still missing.

"Lawrence! Look what I found near the Hall of African-Great God Nicholas! What happened?!"

The boy sighed dramatically, flopping against Jed in defeat.

"Dexter. Tablet. Gravity. Flashing Light. Shrunken kid."

Ahk snorted in amusement, quickly clearing his throat when Larry's glare silenced any other laughter from the pharaoh as he took the tablet from Teddy.

"You might want to set Nicholas on the floor Larry."

The night guard did as he was told, sighing heavily as they all backed up. Ahk cleared his throat softly, fingers running over the tablet's pieces to correct any misalignment.

"_Bring back this youth's state of normal, return that to which is as it was_."

The light was blinding, and they had all to turn away and shield their eyes as it engulfed Nicky before expanding outwards.

Once it died down, Larry turned around cautiously before lunging forward.

Nicky was just sitting up as his dad slid to a stop next to him, Jed and Octavius jumping from the night guard's hand once close enough to the floor before Larry wrapped his son in a tight hug.

"Whoa! Head rush."

"Nicholas are you alright?"

The boy turned to the president once Larry let go of him enough to do so, nodding before leaning against Ahk when the pharaoh hugged him as well.

"Jed, Octavius."

"We know Gigantor, lock down for a couple nights...didn't mean fer this ta happen..."

Larry grabbed Jed before he could walk away, holding him up in front of his face so the cowboy would look at him directly.

"Thank you."

Jed smirked, nodding in response before accepting Roosevelt's offer to take him and Octavius back to their exhibits before dawn while Ahkmenrah and Larry checked Nicky over and helped him up. As they turned the corner, Jed couldn't help but smirk with Octavius as the boy who they considered a little brother started talking.

"Hey Dad, think I can shrink again some other night? I didn't get to see all of Rome and Jed's teaching me to ride a horse, and-"

"No."

"But please! I was perfectly safe-"

"No.

"Ahk? Come on help me out here!"

"No Nicky."

"Please?"

"No!"

"La."

"Aww..."

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**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
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	7. History Repeats Itself

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To _Huskygirl1998_: Thank you! Goodness you ask a lot of questions! I love it! Ahk is a skeleton, it will be brought up more later. I don't know...we'll have to see!  
**

**To Guest 1: Thank you! They'll pop up more, give them a chance! :)**

**To Guest 2: Thank you! Yes I have it's awesome isn't it!? :) Wow!**

**To Ideas: I haven't seen that but saw him as a hipster college student in a Tom Hanks movie, he's awesome all around! And yes he is good looking! Thanks!**

**To Aviva636: Can't send PM's to you so here: Thank you! And I understand, phone's don't do reviews well...or this site very well besides reading...Thank you so much! I love him too!**

**To Anon: Oh cool! We'll see if I do, I get distracted enough that another site may make me a hermit. ;) Thank you so much!**

**To Guest 3: I hope you get an account soon they're a lot of fun! And I have a chapter for that in the works along with several others to go with the third movie, just waiting a bit to post them to keep the series in order...might do a table of contents lol...Thank you!**

**To NatM-fan (guest): Awwww...Thank you so much!**

**To Eve Woods: Thank you! O.O That would a good one! Shall add it to my list!**

**To _monkeygirl77, CCVRG, mintythefox, Avlon Moon, bigbangtheoryk8, Amary22, Treehugger31, BumblbeenGlaceon, TheBlackTree, Eve Woods, Sylvia809, SuperPsychoLove, BritHummderson, HealingHelper227, , animebella09, Kate3628, 3WL00D, Minecraft Guardiansaiyan, zaraxz, BatMuse512, OptimusPrimeAddict, Eve Woods, Aqua79, sunheart of rushclan, Soundtrack-Fanatic, Doyle0915, Claire-de-plume, Faustusian Sutcliff, XdoyouhearthepeoplesingX, Sharpshooter7, Mythicalnightguard_: Thank you for the faves and follows! (CCRVG it won't let me type the "." I'm sorry!)  
**

*****Here's to TheTabletOfAmunet and Dragonninja-fan for wanting an Ahk sick day/no one knows what to do, Tablet also noticed Ahk gets headaches in this drabble so that's where this came from.******

**Thank you so much all my amazing readers and reviews! You guys are just wow! I'm freaking out at all the amazing responses to this fic!**

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**Chapter Seven  
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**History Repeats Itself  
**

Xxx _October__  
_

Opening his eyes was a bad idea, he could tell the second he inhaled again that it was going to be a bad one, oh he wished he could just fall back asleep and this would be gone. Even the almost pitch black behind his eyelids hurt...

Sitting up was an even worse idea than opening his eyes, but experience had taught him not to remain on his bed like this, he'd messed up the sheets before and it hadn't been pleasant. His conscious thoughts didn't realize just where he was as he tried to stand and ended up collapsing to the floor. Something grating, stone over stone made him cringe, the noises hurting almost worse than the sunlight shining down on him. He moaned in pain, unable to look around and see who had the bright idea to drag stone through his chambers.

The cool stone floor felt good on his cheek as he lay there a couple moments, focusing on nothing but the next breath. Even his heartbeat pounded too loudly and he grimaced a he tried to stand again, managing to move a couple feet before buckling. Luckily the wall was there to catch him, and he used it to stumble down the hall enough to the washroom, ducking into it with a loud moan at the bright lights.

He crawled across the cool tile, wishing it would help alleviate the pain but knowing nothing worked...it had never worked since he was even a child...the healers had tried everything...after he started to really grow after his eleventh birthday these days had faded away...by the gods he thought they had disappeared forever...

Only he would be so unlucky to be cursed like this...if he was lucky this time he'd be able to pass out from the pain quickly, or the healers would find him soon and be able to drug him back to sleep.

Or his blind crawling would make him run into something...

He was in the museum...he was dead...

Cracking open his eyes to determine what the heck he'd hit was horrible, his stomach flipped and he barely made it to the bowl to throw up in in time. He couldn't stop heaving, the action itself hurt and made his head throb as his vision spun even more, a cascading effect as the more his head hurt the more he threw up...and the more his head hurt...

His stomach felt like someone had set it on fire, and before he could keep retching his arms gave out and he slumped sideways, curling into a ball on the floor as he shook in pain. He couldn't feel the tears running down his face, but he knew they were there, they were always there once it got to this stage. It was late...why hadn't anyone come looking for him?

Echoes outside the washroom in the halls made him cringe...now he remembered why he didn't want anyone to find him...any noises hurt...

A spike of pain made him cry out, gripping his head with his hands as he tried to will the pain away, giving up and just laying there...wishing for death to reclaim him...

xxx

Larry sighed as he leaned on the second floor railing, looking down over the dance party the museum exhibits were having since it was their way of celebrating Nicky's birthday. They were a week off, but this was the only night Nicky had been able to come recently as school had gotten in the way and with the boy now on his grade's history team weekends were usually designated for practices and research.

Searching each face (or faceless) body the night guard wasn't finding who he was looking for. He'd promised to help Teddy and Ahkmenrah surprise Nicky with something for his birthday, but so far the pharaoh was still missing.

"Still no sign of our young king Lawrence?"

Teddy's voice at his side made Larry turn slightly, nodding as the president leaned on the railing next to him.

"No not yet, Nicky hasn't even noticed he's missing. So we've got time."

The president nodded, "I even checked the roof but no sign of him, wonder if he already went ahead to begin the gift."

"I doubt it, all the doors are locked so he'd have to come to me for a key or risk setting off the fire alarm on the exits."

Theodore Roosevelt shrugged, scanning the main floor himself before turning as Attila came running up to them.

"Kharuul! Khaan ovchtei baina...genet irne!"

Larry was completely lost, he knew next to nothing in Mongolian, Ahkmenrah hadn't gotten very far in his lessons with the night guard.

Teddy looked confused for a moment, mumbling the words under his breath, "Khaan is king..."

Attilla nodded, grabbing their arms and tugging them towards a far hallway.

The night guard pulled free as his brain started to catch up, "King...Attila do you mean Ahk?"

"Tiim ee! Yaarahkh!"

Teddy froze, "Ovchtei...sick..."

The look on Attila's face as they finally got it would have been comical if they'd seen it, the night guard and president were already running in the direction Attila had been leading them, the Hun overtaking them to lead the rest of the way. The other Huns were standing guard in the hallway, one of them blocking the door to the mens bathroom and only relaxing when Attila motioned for him to do so.

His gravelly voice dropped to an almost whisper as he stood in front of the door, speaking before letting the night guard and president by. "Kharuul, Khaan ovchtei...tolgoi ovchtei, ovdoj duutai." As he spoke, he gestured to the closed door and then his head, and then Larry heard a muffled yell from within the bathroom, recognizing Ahk instantly.

Larry ducked into the bathroom, moving to Ahk who was curled up on the floor shaking in one of the stalls. As soon as his hands brushed Ahk's shoulders, the night guard had his arms full of a trembling pharaoh. Ahk buried his face against Larry's shoulder, trying to block out all light and sound as he gasped for air, barely drawing enough in to his lungs to keep from choking.

"Hey...what's wrong...talk to m-" He quickly shut up when even his soft words made Ahk cry out, curling in on himself tighter and pressing his hands to his head as he coughed, jerking away to throw up. The pharaoh was outright sobbing when the night guard flushed the toilet, using some tissues to clean him up a bit before wrapping his arms around Ahk again as the pharaoh clung to his uniform.

Maneuvering carefully, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, typing out a quick sentence on the notepad setting before sliding the phone across the floor to Teddy who had poked his head in the door.

shut lights off NOW.

The president's brows furrowed, glancing to Lawrence in confusion until Ahkmenrah keened softly, only settling once the lights where off and the only way to see was the dim emergency light in the far corner. The pharaoh sighed softly, still shaking in Larry's arms but shifted to lean against him versus squeezing the life out of the night guard.

"S-sorry..."

Ahk's voice was hoarse and quiet, almost a breathless whisper he made so little noise. Larry shifted so he could speak and hopefully not cause the pharaoh pain, dropping his voice to a really soft whisper.

"Your head?"

The pharaoh nodded once, wincing as that hurt as well and having to move to throw up again, seeming to have the action down to an art as he was still shaking and was losing strength yet managed to make it to the toilet.

Larry helped him sit back, bracing him so he could lean against the wall without falling over as the night guard crouched in front of him.

"Happened before?"

"Mhm."

Larry winced silently, gently rubbed the pharaoh's upper arm, motioning that he'd be back in a minute before creeping out and carefully shutting the door again.

"Kharuul?"

"Lawrence?"

The night guard sighed, "I'm pretty sure Ahk's got a migraine, judging by how he's acting I think he's had them before. Light and sound are bothering him the most, so I'm going to turn the lights off in this hallway too so the door opening doesn't bother him. Teddy go get Sacajawea and see if she has a lantern or something, come back quietly, no noise down here at all got it?"

The president was silent, finally nodding and leaving when Larry grabbed his shoulder to get his attention, repeating the instructions. The night guard clasped Attila's shoulder before motioning for him and the others to take guard positions at the end of the hall so no one could come down that way, and so they wouldn't be able to hear Ahk either as his continued muffled yells were making the others edgy.

Larry went back inside after turning off all but the farthest light from the bathroom in the hallway. Ahk was still sitting against the wall when he returned, this time with his eyes closed as he clenched his fists at his sides. The pharaoh met the night guard's gaze after a minute, lips twitching in what would have been a grin if he hadn't been in so much pain. The night guard fetched some damp paper towels, gently cleaning the pharaoh up and laying a cold cloth on his forehead when he shifted more.

Sacajawea was at his side a minute later, giving him a reassuring grin as she let Ahk grab her hand when a wave of pain made him tense up. She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand, squeezing gently when his lips twitched in response.

"Teddy is preparing the office, you need to lie down."

Ahkmenrah grimaced slightly, whether at the sudden noise, as soft as it was, or the thought of moving, Larry couldn't tell. He didn't respond for a minute, finally nodding once and reaching up to grab the bars on the wall. Larry quickly grabbed his arm instead, knowing even he did have the coordination to pull himself up, the pharaoh didn't have the strength.

Erica had had horrible migraines about once a month when she and Larry had been married, it wasn't until after Nicky was born did she finally find the right medication to manage them. Until then, Larry had dealt with migraines ranging from mild to on the brink of hospitalization. Ahk was no different, as soon as Larry locked his arms around his torso the pharaoh went limp, either because he had no choice or he knew it wasn't worth fighting as the night guard slung on of his arms over his shoulders to hold him up. Sacajawea took his other side, bracing him as his legs shook with only taking half his weight.

A low moan slid from Ahk's throat once he was fully upright, the other two waiting in case he was going to throw up again as one of his hands went to his face. Ahkmenrah nodded after a minute, moving the hand to grip Larry's shoulder again to signal he was able to move.

Teddy must have had the sense to at least calm the others down, there was almost no sound in the back half of the museum as Sacajawea and Larry half carried Ahkmenrah to the security office, the president was a hallway ahead of them, turning off the lights before they reached the next area each time. The pharaoh was gritting his teeth and biting back any noises as they moved, gripping Larry's jacket tightly as his other hand was a fist to keep from inadvertently hurting Sacajawea.

The president held the door open to the dimly lit office when they arrived, a half lit lantern sitting on the desk in the corner giving just enough light as Larry helped Ahk lay down on the pull out couch. Ahkmenrah lost it at that point, groaning as he rolled over and threw up into the waiting bucket, moving hadn't been a wise idea. Larry held his shoulder to brace him, the pharaoh clutching his stomach in pain as he whined softly, tears still sliding down his cheeks as he buried his face in the pillow. The night guard helped him reposition himself, pulling the jeweled collar off from around Ahk's neck and tugging the armbands off to set aside. At some point the pharaoh had ripped his own robes off, Larry would go find them later, for now he let the pharaoh wrap himself in the blanket, sighing softly as he helped keep him warm but didn't stop the pain.

"Ahk...I know it hurts..."

The soft whimper that cut him off made Larry wince but he didn't stop, gently rubbing the pharaoh's back to keep his attention.

"I'm sorry, but you need to talk for a second...how long have you been getting these?"

"All m-my life...healers c-couldn't stop 'em..."

"Are they always this bad?"

"Mhm...sometimes worse...usually pass out by now..."

Whether from talking, the pain, or just how lousy he was feeling, Ahk started sobbing again, letting Larry wrap his arms around him in a hug, needing the support to remain grounded.

"Ok...passing out is _not_ a good thing, I'm gonna pick up some stuff to help you sleep, let me help..."

Ahk groaned softly, gripping Larry's shirt tightly as he leaned against the night guard in exhaustion.

"N-nothing works..."

"You don't know that-"

Ahk keened softly as he tried to open his eyes, squeezing them shut tighter when even a slight slit made him cringe, "Nothing worked! They tried! Every time it was something different...every time it grew worse! It won't stop!"

Teddy moved closer as the pharaoh sobbed, in too much pain to do much other than cling to Larry with what little strength he had left.

"Lawrence...Sacajawea fetched this from her exhibit, it's Laundanum, an opiate...should let Ahkmenrah sleep."

Larry hadn't even realized the Shoshone woman had left, nodding gratefully and taking the cup of liquid the president offered and getting Ahk's attention.

"Drink."

The pharaoh groaned softly, trying to turn away but finding that slight motion caused him pain. He was only getting worse...

The night guard sighed, holding the cup to his lips and tipping it the second they parted a little, Ahk swallowed out of reflex, grimacing a little at the taste before finally turning away as the cup was drained.

Larry and Teddy waited with nervously as the soft, gasping breaths from the pharaoh slowly eased and deepened as sleep finally claimed him, the lines on his young face smoothing out as he no longer felt the pain. The two eased his body onto the bed more to comfortable, Larry tucking the blanket around him carefully before they left the room.

They made it to the next hallway before Larry turned and kicked a trashcan, sighing loudly as his frustration and concern boiled over. Teddy rested a hand on his shoulder as the two sat on a bench, Larry dropping his head to his hands.

"Damn...I've seen some bad migraines, but none like that...never seen Ahk so...so..."

"Mhm...I'm afraid to ask him of it later, how he reacted at your assistance...like he had convinced himself already that nothing would be able to alleviate the pain. He spoke as if this was common enough in his previous life that...Lawrence?"

"Hmm?"

"You don't believe something like this is what caused Ahkmenrah's..."

The president trailing off made Larry look up finally, neither finishing that statement out loud as the night guard sighed, "Man I hope not...I didn't really research him all that much when I was learning things about the museum, but not much is known about his death. Don't think I'd want to tell anyone either so I think we'll just leave this one to Ahk. Just...oh man...to live with crippling migraines attacking often enough to know nothing worked to help besides passing out or being drugged to sleep? Gotta hand it to Ahk for that."

Teddy grunted softly, shaking his head in slight disbelief that the young pharaoh had suffered so much. "Sad to believe that the tablet allows him to still be in such pain...heals us during the day yet allows Ahkmenrah to suffer at night."

Larry nodded, "Who knows...I have no idea...what I do know is that we either keep Ahk asleep through this, or I go find something to try and help him, pretty sure you guys can't handle modern medicine..."

"I wouldn't want to find out one way or another...none of us besides Ahkmenrah have our original bodies anyway."

"Then the stuff Sacajawea gave Ahk?"

"Part of Lewis' and Clark's standard supplies, museum restorators change out the bottles every few months to keep the 'authentic' look. Just as my hat gets exchanged occasionally."

"Huh...honestly never noticed."

Teddy let out a low chuckle, "I never knew until I woke up one evening to find two hats sitting on the edge of the platform, one new one old. And this was only a few years ago."

Larry chuckled as well, yawning slightly as he checked his watch. Three thirty, still a couple more hours for the others to finish their dance party or whatever with Nicky while Ahk slept. "Wish I'd noticed Ahk sooner, heck it was after midnight by the time Attila came to get us."

"Nothing we can do about the past Lawrence, only move forward, believe me...worrying about the past when its done and gone only brings you heartache."

The night guard glanced over to the president, catching the distant look in his eyes before patting Teddy's shoulder. "Well, I'm going to go dig out some moving blankets from the basement, give Ahk some padding in the sarcophagus for the day. Hopefully this is gone by tomorrow night, long lasting migraines are never a good thing."

xxx

Ahk was somewhat conscious when Larry went to get him to go back to his exhibit thirty minutes to sunrise, the pharaoh able to make eye contact but little else. Teddy had led Texas down to the security office, getting the horse to kneel so Larry could help Ahk onto the saddle before Teddy climbed on behind him to support him. They didn't want to risk Ahk getting sick or being in more pain than necessary. Larry walked beside the horse to help brace the pharaoh, ending up letting him hold his hand when he'd slumped forward against the horse's neck, needing the contact to remain awake.

Getting him off Texas was another thing, the motion of the steady rocking walk had lulled Ahk into a half doze, stopping made him flinch slightly before Larry slung on of his arms over his shoulder to help him down. The drop made him groan, bracing himself against the horse for a minute, Teddy and Larry waited silently, hoping he wouldn't start heaving again.

"Ahk?"

"I'm...I'm alright..."

Teddy smiled reassuringly, "I bid you both a good day, and I hope it lets you recover as well pharaoh. See you this evening."

Ahk gave a weak wave before his hand dropped back to his side, Larry waiting until he was ready to move before helping him the sarcophagus.

The pharaoh slumped back against the wood, sighing as his head rested on the blanket pillow. "Thank you."

Larry smiled, hands resting on the lifted lid as he glanced to his watch, watching Ahk rub at his eyes tiredly, "You're welcome, get some rest, if you're still not feeling well tonight I'll have some stuff waiting."

He winced as he sat up a little, groaning as that only hurt more, "Larry...it won't help...nothing-"

"Ahk." The pharaoh went quiet, rubbing at his face as his eyes watered again from pain, giving up and collapsing back as hand gripped one of Larry's tightly.

The night guard sighed softly, "Trust me ok? I may have something to help, if not we have sleep aids so you won't feel it at least. Gotta give us a chance alright?"

"Just...so sick of it...want it to end...death didn't even stop this..._years_ trapped and there would be nights where I wasn't screaming to be let out...just wishing the pain would end..."

Larry didn't get a chance to respond, sunrise hit the museum and Ahk yanked the lid closed just in time as the cold feeling washed over everything, leaving Larry in stunned silence.

xxx

xx

xxx

Ahkmenrah wasn't feeling much better the next night, moving back to the security office with Sacajawea's help before she gave him another glass of laudanum, the pharaoh going right to sleep with it as Larry had added some herbal extracts Erica had used to help her sleep. His ex-wife had tried everything before the last medication worked. Larry didn't press much on Ahk to try, the tea Erica had recommended hadn't stayed down very long and the night guard wasn't going to make Ahk even worse by trying this that could make him throw up more. Easier to let him sleep.

Currently the night guard was back up on the second floor balcony, watching the exhibits meander around and enjoy each others company. Didn't help his mood any...

Teddy joined him after a few minutes, the two silent as they watched.

"Ahk's been getting migraines not only during his past life but also after his death...he's had nights trapped in the sarcophagus while being in pain."

The president groaned softly, hand going to his face in frustration.

"Lawrence, one thing everyone here did, or just about everyone...is learn about one another...so that nights were enjoyable to everyone. People here know the Miniatures are very sensitive about their size, and that any actions must be cautioned to not harm them. Just as everyone is careful with jokes between cultures as to not offend anyone...such as Attila's fascination for magic and the originating of my nickname."

Larry nodded, "So what are you suggesting?"

"I believe we need to have a talk with the young pharaoh."

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
**

**So this is apparently now a two part...not sure how that happened as it wasn't the plan when I started...**


	8. Learn from History

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To Huskygirl1998: Yay winter! It's really cold where I am but at least we have snow now. :):) Feels trips are the best! lol and yes here's another one, enjoy lovely reader! Thank you so much as always! :)**

**To Crazyhowilikeit: Thank you so much! As for shipping, I only do Teddy and Sacajawea, as for Larry and Ahk, that remains brotherly/fatherly kind of relationship. I'm not good at it otherwise without wrecking other parts of my story. Another time perhaps but not this fic. Thank you!**

**To FrostFan: Thank you! Well guess what, read down a littler farther!**

**To NeverStopRunning: You just gave me an awesome idea to keep that theme going for later! O.O Thank you!**

**To Melissa: Thank you! Idea/no idea, works for me as long as readers are happy!**

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*****Here's the second half, Thank you to Eve Woods for the suggestion of Theodore and Larry being more paternal figures to out favorite pharaoh and helping him out. And to FrostFan for wanting Ahk in a less happy mood.******

**Thank you so much all my amazing readers and reviews! You guys are just wow! I'm freaking out at all the amazing responses to this fic!**

**120 Reviews for just seven now eight chapter! WHOA! You readers...oh my...WOW THANK YOU!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Eight  
**

**Learn from History  
**

Xxx _October__  
_

The library was mildly busy when Larry entered the building, heading immediately to the Ancient History section and the information desk. The retired teacher who manned the desk knew him by sight now, having helped him before with finding things out about something he saw at the museum. She led him through the maze of shelves with ease, right to the proper section and even pulled out just the book Larry was looking for.

Larry nodded gratefully, keeping silent as she preferred no talking in the library, not that she could hear it anyway without her hearing aids. The side window was a great spot to sit and flip through the pages, looking for one particular name in the chapter he was searching. Finding it was a small victory as the text was small and crammed together. The book was an old journal, very few people earned the right to flip through the pages, being a museum employee had its perks.

What he learned from the book only made Larry's mood sink farther as he comprehended what he read. Gently shutting the book and returning it to the desk, he waved as he left the library, stopping at his apartment to change into his work uniform before heading to the museum for his shift.

xxx

Ahkmenrah groaned softly as he woke up, it had taken three nights, three long, sickeningly painful nights for the migraine to go away, leaving him drained and weary of everything. Larry had found an herbal tea that worked well enough to let him sleep off the pain without getting sick, it at least allowed him to be in peace the last two nights.

Tonight was a little better, he'd slept through the initial waking, meaning when he finally opened his eyes to the softly lit exhibit, the sarcophagus was already open and he was on his side, probably having moved in his sleep. Larry had taken to checking on him first thing the last couple nights to see how he was doing, the night guard must have opened the lid when he hadn't moved right away.

No one was in his exhibit when he finally stood up, stretching slowly and rubbing at his temples to stave off any lingering tingling in his skull. The jackals watched him closely to ensure he wasn't going to collapse, earning a slight sigh from their pharaoh as he left the exhibit, heading to the second floor railing and leaning on it slightly as he scanned the lobby.

Game night, day time tour guides left board games in the lounge and Larry brought them out once a week so everyone had the chance to just sit and relax. And for the night guard to have an easier night as the games led to little issues between exhibits.

The night guard was nowhere to be found as Ahkmenrah walked around the museum searching, brows furrowing slightly before he saw one of the roof access doors open at the end of a hallway.

Trekking up the stairs was a bit odd, he felt out of place, like he would be interrupting something if he made it to the top. He didn't turn around though, feeling the responsibility to at least see who was on the roof in case they weren't supposed to be there.

Finding the guardian of Brooklyn and the former United States president wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind, but it was more welcome than anyone else.

Theodore Roosevelt was leaning on the heating unit, arms crossed and staring pensively out at the city. Larry wasn't much better, sitting on a bench and staring at his hands in front of him.

Larry was the first to notice him, turning when his gauntlet tapped on the door when he moved to leave, the night guard nodded to him, turning away as his thoughts took over again.

Ahkmenrah decided against leaving, stepping onto the roof fully and sitting beside the night guard silently, leaning forward and glancing at the papers in Larry's hand that were being just about ripped with how much he was unfolding and refolding the thin sheets. The pharaoh reached over and gently stopped him, taking the papers when offered as the night guard gave in. He opened them just a little, eyes reading over what he understood, and sighing softly as he got enough from it. He dropped his head to his hands after handing the papers back.

"Say something."

Ahk was just as surprised at his own words as Teddy and Larry were at him suddenly speaking, sometimes his words came before his brain could catch up...

"You died two months after your coronation, six months after the death of your parents..."

That made his snort out a chuckle, coughing slightly to hide the rest, "Died? So that's what everyone thinks. Was beginning to wonder when I saw only half of the reliefs on the wall in my exhibit, missing most of them."

"Ahkmenrah, please do not change the subject."

He glanced up to the president, nodding in understanding as Larry turned to him more.

"Ahk, how old are you?"

"Eighteen, the anniversary of my birth was a fortnight after my coronation, but as funerary services were commencing it wasn't that big of a deal at the time."

Larry exhaled loudly through his nose, rubbing at his face in what looked like frustration, making Ahk sigh softly, thinking he was to blame.

"What did I say?"

The night guard flinched, "It's not you Ahk...it's the fact that..." Larry groaned, cutting himself off as he lost the words to explain himself.

Teddy shifted, catching the pharaoh's attention, "I know in your time, the age to take the throne wasn't as big an issue, but even in my time eighteen was young. And even now, those just reaching adulthood as you did..."

Ahk's brow furrowed slightly, but before he could speak the president continued, "Do not take this as we are calling you young or that you were incapable of taking the throne. We have seen that you are more than capable of such a position."

"Then what...?"

"It's the fact Ahk that not only did you have to take the throne so young, but that you died young as well."

The pharaoh let the silence hang for a moment after Larry finished, looking down at his hands before using them to slowly undo part of his jeweled belt, revealing smooth bronze skin, except for one thin scar on his left side, the line a darker color and almost flawless except for a small mark in the middle. Teddy moved closer to see, kneeling down to be in front of Ahk as he showed them the scar.

"I didn't die young...well technically I did...I was killed in my sleep."

Both gasped softly, earning a shrug from the pharaoh as he redid the belt. "My brother stabbed me in my sleep during the feast after I arranged a peace treaty with Upper Egypt to end a war, he made sure to do so in a spot where others wouldn't know as the embalmers just went over the wound during their work, that's why it's not perfect. I think it drove the high priest mad anytime he saw it."

Teddy was silent for a moment as he mulled over Ahk's words before chuckling, "You never cease to amaze me, how are you so calm about this? Your own _brother_?"

Ahk shrugged, trying to brush it off and hoping neither of them saw his hands were shaking as he clasped them together. "He never liked me much, he was the heir to the throne for close to fourteen years before I was born, and then grew bitter at my sixteenth birthday when I was crowned as the heir. Not counting my parents gave me the tablet that neither one of us had _any_ idea how to use, we were both trained in ruling and for war, both of us were sent to battle, together and separately depending on how the war was going at the time.

"Both of us were forced to sit through feasts where daughters of allies were paraded in front of us to choose from. He was always more interested in that than I was, it didn't matter to me about the girls, but I supposedly had first pick so he was always mad at me for not paying attention. Always mad at me for everything...being the heir, getting the tablet...getting the better choice of anything...he _hated_ me...he'd threaten to kill me in training, he was the only one who would actually make me fight, no one wanted to fight the son of the pharaoh..."

His voice shook, words coming faster as he started shaking"...he mocked me...for being young, for taking the throne after our father died in battle, mocking me for being too weak to fight in his stead...for being weak when the pain in my head drew me to screaming in the night...for pushing through the pain when nothing stopped it...called me weak for everything...for being smaller than him...for not wanting war, for talking my way out of things instead of using my blade...taunting me, cursing me by the gods, hitting me...he _never_ stopped...why wouldn't he stop?!"

Ahk broke down, shoulders shaking as he sobbed as the memories rushed back, his brother's haunting laugh echoing in his ears as a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders, holding him as he lost it.

Teddy had warned Lawrence this might happen, about half of the exhibits had had a night where they just couldn't take it anymore, questioning why they'd been brought back and if it was worth it, questioning their life choices and just being at the end of their rope. Jed had been one of the ones to take it hard, his severe negativity to being picked up came from the night he almost left the museum and was stopped by Reginald, the former night guard had kept the miniature in his coat pocket for two nights afterwards to ensure he didn't do anything stupid.

It honestly didn't surprise the president that Ahk was crashing, the pharaoh's history wasn't as clean as others at the museum, the shadows behind his death especially were concerning. It had been assumed by historians and his own people that the pharaoh had just died in his sleep, now it was becoming clear that it wasn't just his brother who had been behind things, others should have noticed the stab wound upon finding their pharaoh dead in the morning. To then also be trapped for centuries...

Larry glanced to him as he rubbed Ahk's back gently, letting the pharaoh cry against his guard jacket. So not in his job description...

The president moved to sit on Ahk's other side on the bench, resting a hand on the gold robes as the pharaoh tried to compose himself, rubbing at his eyes irritably.

"I'm going to assume the tablet was not active during..."

Ahk shook his head, "No, or at least not close enough to me to work, I have no idea where it was or that it even did anything for centuries, I was just...nothing...until the night before the funerary procession. My brother must have brought it with him or it was in the chamber during the vigil for family. He spent the night still mocking me and taunting me for having succeeded in taking the throne after eliminating all competition. He planned to take our people to war as soon as my tomb was sealed."

"You were awake that early and no one knew?"

Again the pharaoh shook his head, "No...not until I was moved to Cambridge University, then the main professor studying me finally noticed when one night after they'd removed most of the wrappings and had adjusted the tablet back to the right positioning it glowed. I believe I..."scared the daylights" out of him when I sat up. The man wasn't that kind to be around...helped me to learn English if I translated the writings on my sarcophagus and the reliefs he had with him, never let me leave the room we were in...but I was so sick of being locked up I didn't care at that point...then..."

Teddy wrapped an arm around the pharaoh's shoulders, rubbing his arm gently, "Locked you back up?"

Ahk nodded, rubbing at his face and sighing irritably as that didn't help any, "I had finished all the reliefs and translations he had available and was watching the rain out the window one night, I asked about his local government system, wanting to know about the flags flying outside. He refused to answer, and when I pressed, changing the topic to lighter things like food or clothing he grew angered, grabbing me and forcing me back into the sarcophagus before I could stop him. I'd been getting a headache for the previous two nights and by that evening I was pretty out of it...shouldn't have surprised me that he managed to over power me at that point..."

"Still, he shouldn't have locked you in like that..."

"It was better that way..."

Larry narrowed his eyes at that, "How is locking you up when he knew you were awake like that better Ahkmenrah? It's just cruel..."

The pharaoh shrugged, "...don't know..."

The night guard sighed softly, "Ahkmenrah, this...aversion to being locked up has nothing to do with the tablet does it?"

Ahk shrugged absently, not really responding.

"Ahk..."

His hesitation did nothing to make his attempt at brushing it off viable, continuing when Teddy lightly nudged him to do so, "Egyptian afterlife custom dictates that the soul resides in the mummy after death, traveling between the body and the underworld as it chooses...the first time I woke up sealed in my tomb...I thought something was wrong...that I wasn't worthy of the afterlife as I was still trapped...for years I thought I had failed, that Ammut had devoured my heart, Anubis finding it heavy with wrong doings I could not recall...I was so scared...I prayed that I wasn't trapped in oblivion...but each time I woke up and hoped to see the gods welcoming me...I was greeted with _nothing_...

"...the nights...they blurred together...always dark, always wrapped up and unmoving...unable to move at all...so hard to breathe...even after the Cambridge professors removed most of the layers I was embalmed in...there still wasn't a lot of room...made it all the more horrible since I could move a little but was still trapped...wasn't until the one man tested it was I able to find out it was the tablet's fault...there were nights I wanted to smash it..."

Teddy sighed softly, rubbing Ahkmenrah's back as the pharaoh's shoulders shook, "You can hear what's going on around you during the day can't you?"

Larry flinched as Ahk nodded, "You guys can hear during the day?"

"Sometimes...bits and pieces, I know Jedidiah and Octavius hear more than I do during the day Lawrence, they're usually pretty aware. I am almost positive Dexter is usually aware most days."

The pharaoh moved enough to glance up at the night guard, "I can sometimes hear people walking around my exhibit during the day, rarely can I understand words, just hear muffled sounds. Depends on how "deep" I guess we "sleep" or whatever during the day..."

"Wow...that's irritating..."

Ahk snorted slightly, giving a rather heartless chuckle, "It is...wish I knew a way to make that stop happening...almost worse than being trapped inside when awake...just on the brink of being unconscious and still listening to everything..."

"Geez..."

Teddy smirked a little at Larry's reaction, turning back to the young pharaoh next to him with a gentle smile.

"Ahkmenrah...I know remembering the past is not easy...especially for a past that not only was so long ago but also has stretched for so long in the night. But you do not have to remember alone. Just ask and I will be there when you have need of me."

Larry nodded as well, "Same here, even if you just need to talk or even need time alone and can't get away from everyone, let me know...that's what I'm for."

Ahkmenrah gave soft laugh, "Not quite...you are supposed to be our guard."

"Well I am, I guard you guys from everything and anything, including yourselves should the need arise...like Jed's affinity for crashing remote control cars."

"Oh! Lawrence, I've been meaning to ask if we should set a limit as to how many cars Jed is allowed to destroy a month, may settle the recklessness a bit."

The night guard snorted, "I say none but that's not going to happen...yeah we'll need to talk with them..."

xxx

Ahkmenrah held back the sigh that wanted to slip out as he ordered the jackals to back off when they tried to separate their pharaoh from Larry when the night guard escorted him back to his exhibit after leaving the roof. The two statues just didn't really like Larry...

That or lately the only times they saw him were either taking Ahk away in pain, or bringing him back in a similar state. Not the best way to get on their good side.

The pharaoh brushed his fingers over the tablet before removing his crown, setting it back on the stand in the display case as Larry examined a section of the hieroglyphic reliefs.

Larry had just turned to help get the lid in place when he watched Ahk sway and buckle, grabbing onto the sarcophagus edge for support as he went down. The night guard rushing to his side.

"Ahk? You alright?"

He nodded as he sat down fully, rubbing at his face, "I'm fine...just...very tired..."

"Can always turn in early, get some sleep before daw-"

"No!"

The night guard had to physically stop the pharaoh from standing, grabbing him to keep him from fleeing, "Hey it's alright, Ahk it's ok...look at me, you can stay out if you want, there's still an hour til sunrise, don't worry..."

Ahk sighed softly, leaning on a hand as he forced himself to calm down, "...just..._hate_ that thing..."

Larry nodded, wrapping an arm around his shoulders reassuringly, rubbing the pharaoh's arm when he sighed and leaned against the night guard beside him, just needing the support. The two sat in silence for a long time, Larry shifting to stretch his legs out before turning his head slightly to find Ahk had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Damn...the pharaoh looked so young like this...face no longer showing the lines he wore that told of the burdens he carried. Hard to believe he was eighteen...acted so much older most of the time that Larry never would have guessed or believed it if Ahk hadn't said it himself.

Teddy came to check on the pharaoh a bit before dawn, smiling at the scene when he found them. Larry rolled his eyes at the amusement in the president's gaze before motioning for his help.

Ahk stood with a little persuasion, not fully comprehending what was going on as he laid down in the sarcophagus and fell back asleep within seconds. Luckily he remained asleep when the president and night guard closed the lid as softly as they could.

The pair headed down to the lobby, and Teddy mounted Texas as Larry glanced around with a soft sigh.

"This job never ceases to amaze me...one night I'm a soccer referee, the next I'm a Western/Roman mediator...now I'm a therapist!"

Roosevelt laughed as he drew his sword, rolling his shoulders as he readied to take his stance for the day, "I wouldn't say therapist Lawrence, you're not paid enough for that."

"Oh very funny."

"Well I thought so."

Larry chuckled, stretching himself as he glanced to his watch and then the front windows, watching the dark shadows begin to fade into grey.

"Then what would you call me Teddy?"

The president didn't reply right away, eyes going distant as he glanced up in the direction of where a certain young pharaoh was sleeping. He finally spoke seconds before dawn hit the museum, leaving Larry unable to respond with just one word.

"Family."

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
**


	9. This is Halloween

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To Huskygirl1998: Thank you so much! Have both of those planned for a little later, don't worry! :)  
**

**To Izzylizzy26 (Guest): But of course! How else do I thank you!? Thanks!  
**

**and to Izzylizzy26 second review: Goodness! I can only type so fast! I shall tuck that idea into another chapter that it will fit perfectly in. Thank You!**

**To Chris marshee (Guest): Hello again! hmmm...that's a new thought! awesome! Thank you!**

**To NatM-fan (Guest): awww thank you!**

**To NeverStopRunning: Everyone wants Ahk to suffer geez we're such awful fans! lol ;D Yeah the claustrophobia plays in quite a bit doesn't it? It shall return, maybe not for a little bit so I can bring others back into the lime light. Thank you!**

**To Melissa (Guest): Thank you!**

**To TMNT Fan: As soon as I catch up to New Years I will, at the end of October for this chapter so soon! Thank you!**

**To Avian: Hi from USA to Malaysia! Wow this fic is going everywhere! That is such a neat idea! I've never thought about that one! Hmmm..I think it will fit in the time between Larry leaving to do his inventions and Battle of the Smithsonian so in a few chapters look for it! Thank you so much!**

**To roseandthorns: O.O That would be fun to do! I mean not fun for Ahk but still...Give me some time to catch up with my ideas and shall dabble into it! Thank you! **

**To Guest: Thank you! Here you go!**

**To Anon: How does this chapter go for games? ;) There will be others too, Thank you!**

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**

*****Here's to Huskygirl1998 for wanting a Night on the Town. And here's to everyone wanting more Nicky/Ahk, not the best but here it is, more to come!******

**Thank you so much all my amazing readers and reviews! You guys are just wow! I'm freaking out at all the amazing responses to this fic!**

**I have no idea if Central Park does this...it fit my story so tada!**

* * *

**Chapter Nine  
**

**This is Halloween  
**

Xxx _October__  
_

"Daaaad! You promised!"

Larry sighed as he locked the last gate for the night, waving to Dexter as the Capuchin climbed along the bars and chattered excitedly. Nicky followed right on his heels as the night guard went about finding Teddy and checking on the others of the museum. Of course the boy wasn't able to keep up easily this time, his costume was dragging at him as the cheap fabric caught on just about anything.

"I know Nicky...but that was also before I had a job at night that I _really_ can't leave, I would if I could but someone has to be here to keep an eye on things."

Nicky groaned loudly, dropping his head onto the railing as he and his dad paused to watch the lobby. The boy's hat fell from his head, dropping to the first floor as he slid to the floor, back against the railing.

"Why did Mom and Don have to go out of town again?"

Larry cringed, sighing heavily as he stood there, he didn't get to see Nicky as often anymore with school and activities, and his own job that kept him away from most of the day stuff. Most weekends Nicky was busy and would either be at a friend's house or would have crashed by the time Larry woke up to go to work. With Erica and Don gone this weekend and no history practices for once, Larry had been hoping for a quiet (yeah right) weekend with his son since he'd missing out for awhile now.

He turned and sat next to his son, slumping against the stone railing behind him, "I'm sorry Nicky...I know how much this meant to you...I wish I could but I can't leave the museum unsupervised even for a bit..."

"Why are we trying to leave the museum tonight Lawrence?"

The two humans looked up to see Ahkmenrah sitting down beside Nicky, passing him his dropped hat while Teddy crouched in front of Larry.

"It's Halloween Teddy, and a couple years ago I swore I would take Nicky every year trick or treating, no matter where I was or what job I had. Last year Nicky was sick that night so I didn't have to leave, but this time we're at a loss."

Nicky huffed angrily, leaning against Ahk in defeat as the pharaoh hummed softly, "I could just turn the tablet off for the night."

Larry turned to stare at Ahk, surprised he'd offer something like that. "Seriously?"

Ahk shrugged, "It's not hard, and would let you and Nick go...what was it?"

"Trick-or-treating, you go around in costumes and ask for candy from people, Central Park has a big event where people can sit out on the benches and kids go between them all all over the park instead of going all over the city, plus there's a fair put on by the local schools for games and stuff."

Teddy chuckled at the still blank look Ahkmenrah had, having himself questioned the holiday years ago.

"When you get the chance Ahkmenrah, look up Halloween."

The pharaoh shrugged, smiling as Nick turned to his dad practically bouncing.

"_Please?!_"

Larry sighed, "Ahk, what would you have to do? You guys would just go back to sleep?"

"Sort of, I'd have everyone go back to their spots, like I did that first time, then I'd send them back to sleep. It won't work on all of us though, some still need to be awake so the tablet will recognize sunrise."

The night guard nodded, thinking it over and glancing to Teddy, the president was smiling as Nick continued to explain to Ahk about Halloween and the history behind it as All Hallow's Eve and Samhain. Larry's face broke into a smile when the president glanced to him and winked, catching the night guard's train of thought without a word.

"Hey Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Go get Attila and Sacajawea."

xxx

With Sacajawea, Attila, Teddy, Ahk, and Larry and Nick all gathered in Ahk's exhibit, the pharaoh began the spells. Sounds of the others returning to their places early died off after a minute as the freezing part took over. Larry had had Ahk do this before, at least with some of the animals when they grew too rowdy, it was nothing new to the museum to have the pharaoh help calm things down with the tablet. No one other than Larry and possibly Teddy had a clue what the night guard's plan was as the spells settled over the museum, leaving it almost awkwardly quiet.

"So?" Larry clapped his hands, picking up on Nicky's excitement. "You guys want to go with us?"

"What?"

"Leave the museum?"

"Yamar?"

Larry smirked, "Yeah! I mean you guys are awake anyway and with everyone else asleep why not? Trick-or-treating only lasts a couple hours so we'll be back in plenty of time."

xxx

Nicky was jogging right ahead of them, getting to the people with candy first as they wandered Central Park; being Halloween, no one batted an eye at the exhibits' attire, some even complimenting on the detail and realism. Larry was sure this was not only a good idea, but a great one. Teddy and Sacajawea were entranced by the area and were talking quietly between themselves as they walked. Attila was at the back of the group, silently watching it all and smiling to the young kids running around high on sugar. Ahk walked beside the night guard, looking around in wonder as they wove between other people along the paths.

It was going great until Larry felt something in his front pocket move, " 'Ey Gigantor! Let us out!"

The night guard paled as he shifted his jacket enough to see Jed and Octavius stowing away, both looking a little flushed from being tucked in the fabric for so long.

"What are you guys doing?!"

"Sneakin' out!"

"I followed to make sure he did not perish."

"Oh shut up Ockie!"

Larry sighed, groaning softly as the others gathered around him to keep the conversation from anyone not from the museum as Jed and Octavius moved to his hand. "Seriously Jed, what gave you the bright idea to stowaway in my pocket?"

"Well you were takin' everyone else out! An' Ahkmenrah said ya needed some of us ta stay awake."

The night guard couldn't argue with that, in fact he didn't want to, his body was buzzing with too much coffee and the atmosphere of the night. With only a few of the exhibits awake the tablet's "lively" feeling was more centered on them, leaving Larry feeling like a million bucks. Glancing around at the others only added to the fact it wasn't worth scolding the two miniatures in his hand. All of them were excited to be a part of the "real" world, even if only for a few hours, he couldn't make them turn back now...

"Fine...but you guys are grounded for two nights after this, you get to ride on Attila's hat so no one sees you."

Jed whooped, earning a rather disgruntled sigh from Octavius as they were quickly transferred to the Hun's helmet for safety.

"And keep your voices down."

"Yeah-yeah."

"Of course my liege."

With a shake of his head, Larry led them all on, catching up with Nicky in a big clear area where a small fair was set up. Nicky the pirate was bobbing for apples, unable to snag one as he was laughing too hard.

Sacajawea, in a spur of the moment thought, stepped forward when he backed up, both smirking as the Shoshone took a turn herself, managing to pull one up at the last second. People cheered as she passed the apple to the booth leader, the man handing it over his shoulder to a horse tied to the fence of the pony rides. He passed her a caramel nut apple as a prize, waving as she and Nicky rejoined the others.

Most of Larry's time was spent quietly explaining some of the games and booths scattered around, answering questions about some of the costumes as Nicky ran around having fun and gathering up way too many sweets. Once in awhile he'd snag his dad to join him, Larry finally stopping this after managing to acquire a jumbo bag of cotton candy and shared with everyone, including Jed and Octavius.

Nicky was content to walk with them as they wandered the lines of scarecrows entered in a contest, admiring the variety and different levels of craftsmanship. They reached the end of one line, and Ahkmenrah had just turned to ask Larry about a style of clothing one scarecrow was wearing when Nicky suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him off to a partner game. The pharaoh had no choice but to go along with it.

Teddy chuckled as they all leaned on the fence boundary where family and friends of the new contestants would be competing. The president outright laughing as Nicky helped Ahk secure a ribbon to their ankles for the three legged race. Larry was explaining the event with Jed's help to Octavius, Sacajawea, and Attila, all of them starting to chuckle as Ahk and Nick straightened, wrapping their arms around each other to stay balanced.

The whistle blew and the eight pairs of racers began the awkward hop down the makeshift field, most stumbling and falling several times as they hobbled along. Larry was cheering for his son like a good parent, laughing too much to be coherent as he snapped pictures with his phone. Ahk and Nicky were one of two pairs making it to the end of the race without falling completely to the ground or loosing the leg ribbon and have to stop. They were within two feet of the finish line when Ahk stumbled, dragging Nicky down as he collapsed, laughing too hard to remain balanced.

Nicky was laughing hysterically as he fell on top of the pharaoh, their legs getting tangled before one of the race monitors moved to help them up after Nicky untied the ribbon. Everyone got a prize, in this case a small bag of treats, Nicky managed to eat two of them before Ahk refused to give the bag back, munching on them instead and earning a round of light teasing as he fended off any hands trying to reach for the bag.

Larry couldn't blame the pharaoh, chocolate covered pretzels were awesome!

xxx

It was a good thing the exhibits could still eat, the tablet during the day not only healed them and let them "sleep" but "took care of things" if they ate at night. Which made the visit to the pizza parlor three blocks from the museum all the better as by some point after midnight everyone was starving and coming off sugar highs. The small diner was decked out in Halloween finery, looking like orange and black threw up inside as streamers, confetti, hanging decorations, and balloons were _everywhere_. And the customers weren't the only ones in costume, the cashier and their waiter were Thing One and Thing Two with the chef the Cat in the Hat respectively.

They all sat a back corner booth, the large table covered with three different types of pizza, water pitchers, glasses, and plates. Larry gave up following the multiple conversations as he sat next to Nicky and Teddy, just smiled as he ate his pizza slices in silence and watched the others.

Jed and Octavius were right in front of the night guard, arguing over whether or not sauce was needed on a pizza. Nicky and Teddy were in deep discussion over which was more important, cheese or crust type, while Sacajawea was having an entirely separate conversation with the president at the same time. Ahk was attempting to explain to Attila what pizza was, not that hew knew much himself as was making faces as he took the first few bites.

It honestly made the night guard's head spin, Ahk and Attila spoke in Mongolian, in her excitement Sacajawea kept slipping back into her native tongue, and Jed's accent was so thick right now it was almost a new variety of English.

It wasn't until Attila burst out laughing, slamming a fist onto the table and making all the glasses rattle and the two miniatures fall over did Larry decide to wrap things up. Much to everyone's chagrin which the night guard ignored as he paid and left a tip, everyone heading back to the museum at last.

The majority of Nicky's night had been eating sweets and running around like a banshee, he was out like a light the minute Attila hitched the kid up on his back. Watching a Hun give a small pirate a piggy back ride was hilarious, and Larry would have laughed if he also wasn't as tired and it wasn't Attila, just because the Hun tolerated the night guard didn't mean they didn't have their moments. Jedidiah and Octavius were just as tired, laying along the brim to Attila's helmet, talking so softly that Larry could have sworn they were asleep if not for an occasional arm stretching up to point at something. Teddy and Sacajawea led the way back, arms linked as they talked quietly, the president pointing out things about New York and its history, earning wide smiles from the Shoshone.

Ahkmenrah walked beside Larry silently, the pharaoh tired and almost dragging his feet. Larry knew he was dreading returning to the museum, it meant returning to reality and his sarcophagus.

The night guard wrapped an arm around his shoulders, rubbing slightly as the pharaoh automatically leaned against him, letting out a soft sigh as they reached the street the museum was on.

"One heck of a night, huh Ahk?"

"Mhm."

Larry glanced over, "What's up?"

"Nothing...thank you for this, it was enjoyable."

"Enjoyable? I think a little more than that, looked like you were having a lot of fun with Nicky at the fair."

Ahk nodded, yawning a little as he glanced at a newspaper stand on the street corner across from the museum, "Yes, it was a lot of fun...I almost wish..."

"Wish what?"

He shook his head vehemently, ignoring Larry's question as he tried to walk a bit faster, having to slow down when Larry didn't let go and let him walk away.

"Hey, c'mon, you wish what Ahkmenrah?"

The pharaoh sighed heavily, an almost growling noise as they paused outside the back door to the museum after everyone else had gone back inside. "I sometimes wish I was alive again...nights like this when just a little bit of freedom is offered, makes me miss being able to go out and _do_ something...even as simple as playing games like those at the fair."

Larry paused in responding, he knew at times some of the exhibits would be a little uneasy about being dead or in the museum, unable to do anything except at night. Hearing Ahk though had the knowledge really hitting home, the pharaoh wasn't that happy about his 'night life' as he led others to believe. The smile that had been on his face was one Larry didn't see often at all, one of the only times he had seen it was the night he'd let Ahkmenrah out and he'd ridden on Rexy with Nicky to chase after Cecil, the look on his face was the same one the pharaoh had had all night while they'd been in the park and at the diner.

Now the night guard was beginning to wonder if he'd see it again with how down the pharaoh looked right now...

"Ahk-"

He was cut off abruptly, the pharaoh trying to cover up with a slightly more fake smile than the night guard wanted to see, "I know-I know...it's childish...accept my life as it is..."

Ahk was rambling, and Larry gave up and slid a hand over his mouth to get him to stop.

"It is not childish, it's normal. Yeah it's not as fun all the time but we try, and I bet if you can work something out with Nicky, whose hiding on the other side of the door, I could be convinced to let you two go off for an hour or two once in awhile."

Nicky's loud moan as he finally opened the door made both of them chuckle, the boy's short nap and a few more candy bars had revived him to be bouncing and wide awake again.

"You're never going to sleep at this rate." Larry griped halfheartedly, ruffling his son's hair.

He just smirked, shaking his head as he tugged them inside. "So Ahk where you wanna go first? There's-"

"Whoa! Slow down, said you had to convince me first."

"Ok...next weekend?"

"Nicky!"

"Aw dad!"

Ahkmenrah chuckled, wrapping an arm around Nicky's shoulders comfortably as they headed off to to find the others, all sprawled on one of the stair cases, half asleep and talking quietly. The pharaoh was more relaxed now, having something to look forward to at least besides game nights, soccer tournaments, and endless wandering, you could only explore all the displays so many times...

xxx

"Lawrence."

Larry was lightly shaken out of his light doze, snorting softly as he looked up to see Teddy.

The president nodded his head to something a little higher up on the stairs from him, unable to move more than that as Sacajawea had her head in his lap and was holding one of his hands while she slept. Larry sat up enough to turn around, careful of Jed and Octavius sleeping in his front pockets like sleeping bags.

Ahkmenrah was leaning against the stair railings, legs stretched out and crossed comfortably on one step, his head was slightly tipped to one side as he slept soundly, not even waking to Attila's thunderous snores. Nicky was curled against the pharaoh's chest, head on his shoulder as Ahk's arms were wrapped around him protectively. Neither one looked like they'd move anytime soon.

Larry smiled, stretching slowly and glancing at his watch and wincing at the time. Ten minutes.

"Time to go guys..."

Attila woke with a start at his words, stretching as well before standing and heading back to his exhibit after fetching his sword from the front desk, Larry hadn't allowed any weapons to go with them. Sacajawea refused to wake up or at least move until Teddy leaned down and kissed her quickly, finally moving with a wide smile and taking the two Miniatures from Larry.

Octavius didn't wake until she lightly tapped his breastplate, the noise startling him enough to wake up from his slumber. Only she would get away with how she woke up Jed, gently petting his stomach until he woke up laughing, glaring at her playfully as she carried them back to the hall before returning to her case with Lewis and Clark.

Teddy lightly shook Nicky's shoulder, chuckling when the boy snuggled against Ahk further and the pharaoh instinctively held on tighter.

"Nicholas, you need to wake up."

The boy's voice was slurred with sleep, soft and almost unintelligible, "Nuh uh..."

"Ahkmenrah has to return to his exhibit, dawn is approaching."

"No he can't..."

"And why not dear lad?"

"He's my pillow!" The soft whine made both the president and Larry chuckle, going to wake Ahk first instead as he'd have better luck getting Nicky to move.

Larry gently rubbed Ahk's shoulder, careful of the jeweled collar, "Ahk, time to wake up."

The soft growl he led out was honestly adorable, nose scrunching in displeasure at being disturbed.

"Ahk, you have to go back to your exhibit."

He sighed sleepily, not opening his eyes as he shifted, "No I don't."

"Uh yeah you kinda do...little awkward to have a four thousand year old mummy sitting on the museum steps."

"Halloween decoration."

Larry gave up and laughed, the noise jarring Nicky enough that Ahk had to react to keep the boy from falling, both grumbling softly at being disturbed.

"Dawn's coming, time to return to sleep."

Ahk nodded, ruffling Nicky's hair playfully before jogging the rest of the way up the steps and returning to his sarcophagus.

Teddy was just settling on Texas and reaching for his sword Larry was handing him when a loud bang echoed in the silent halls.

"OW!"

Larry shook his head, passing the president his sword, "Watch your fingers Ahk!"

"Yeah! I know!"

Teddy chuckled, tipping his hat to the night guard just before dawn froze them all for the day.

xxx

Larry yawned, stretching as he and Nicky trekked down the front steps and headed for home, both looking forward to their beds and sleeping away most of Saturday.

"So dad...instead of next weekend, how about the weekend after that?"

"Nicky!"

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
**


	10. Broken-Part One

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To Huskygirl1998: O.O holidays! Yay! Those will be fun to do, will probably explore them in the gap while Larry's gone for Daley Devices as the museum exhibits would be by themselves and having to keep everything under control. Yeah was just thinking earlier that the tablet's secrets need to go into more detail...Thank you! Ahk is fave-all the angst...goodness...lol  
**

**To NatM-fan (Guest): Yeah, royals have such a different life yet are people too. And I always felt Teddy and Larry just knew each other well. Thank you!  
**

**To TMNT Fan: Oh man that's an awesome idea! Is it ok if I hold off until closer to SotT? Then he'd be a bit older? Thank you!**

**To Song X: Thank you so much! Of course he's included more, he's a major part even if the movies didn't use him that way. :D**

**To Anon: Thank you so much!**

**To Saerwen99: Thank you!**

**To Ebony: Thank you! Wow people just love this!**

**To Guest: OOOOOOOO Great idea! Thank you!**

**To _Puzzle Neko, Himitsu Dark Half, Night fury lover16, kraszkaitlynn, powergirl1, FireDancer 109, xsadxfacex, iamQuoz, XxBagheeraxX, Story Oracle, Kenna Cat, naruto girl 15, Booshea831, gotoRoomgirl, PJO, Experimental223, Bunnyhi, Wild Dragon's Breath, FireRain1999, catgrl106, CovenantGirlLoki, uberchica, ShadowriderST, Phantom Pawprints, queen-of-the-horrors, shir0ch4n, Ponycrazy7597, Badass Archer Daughter, love sasodei s2, Clemences-are-so-sexy, Kaira Sakamoto, kraszkaitlynn, America'sHat, TheThiaForce, owlgirl1998, Mariposa Lass, Padfoot the epic GLOWSTICK, TNM427, QueenofWierd_: Thank you for the follows and faves!  
**

*****Here's to Mythicalnightguard for this awesome idea and collaboration!******

**Thank you so much all my amazing readers and reviews! You guys are just wow! I'm freaking out at all the amazing responses to this fic!**

* * *

**Chapter Ten  
**

**Broken-Part One  
**

Xxx _November__  
_

Maxwell Franklin Hughes was a lovable, curious four year old boy. And coming to the museum with his mommy and daddy and big sister was one of the best things to do on a Tuesday afternoon. First walking into the museum there was a HUGE dinosaur! A T-Rex! it's nose was almost close enough to pet it...but some mean guy in a suit that talked funny wouldn't let him...

The president or whoever in the front lobby area wasn't that cool, Max didn't remember his name even seconds after the nice tour lady talked about him as she gave mommy and daddy the tickets and a map. They headed to Ocean World first, the whales were so cool! Like they were swimming through the air and would squirt them with water at any second!

Big sis said the squirting water wasn't true, that it was breathing! Nuh uh! Whales squirted water from their heads!

Mommy stopped their "discussion" with the threat of no ice cream...

The black horses tied up to the red carriage was cool, he thought they were for robbers but Daddy read the sign, they were mailing horses and had secret words to run and stop. Kinda like spies!

But his favorite part was when they reached the Empire Diorama displays. They were the coolest!

The Ancient Mayan one was really cool with their little bows and plow pipes, mommy reminded him not to try and make his own blow pipes out of straws and raisins and shoot the cat...They also had a silly castle that looked like steps leading to nothing, made no sense to him but it was funny! They were his favorite!

Looking at the Rome display was cool, daddy pointed out all the parts of the army like the centurions and footman and chariot runners and archers, and daddy even showed Max exactly which one was the Roman General. They were also his favorite!

The last Diorama was Max's bestest favorite!

Cowboys and trains and horses! The best thing in the world! Maxwell loved the little cowboys!

This exhibit was the best! Mommy and daddy were reading the signs to big sister, but Max didn't care, he was having more fun running back and forth between the three really cool dioramas and looking at them over and over. Mommy said only five minutes left of their time here, Max wasn't impressed.

So he decided that the fun should not end even when leaving the museum.

xxx

Two minutes after Max did it, Emily Hughes knew her son had done something wrong. His innocent expression and the fact that he'd jammed his hands in his pockets as he walked was the biggest clue.

The resulting temper tantrum to hand over whatever he'd grabbed was loud and disruptive, making the mother sigh in frustration when her son in a fit of his young anger threw the little wax miniature he'd stashed in his pocket.

Only three inches tall the miniature figure didn't stand a chance in hitting the floor and bouncing...

xxx

"...Again I'm really sorry...we'll pay for a replacement-"

"Now Emily c'mon, it's a couple ounces of wax-"

Dr. McPhee sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration but let the couple have their minor argument as he told a research assistant to go and get the shipping package needed for this.

"It's no problem, honestly happens at least once a month or so, the miniatures are damaged regularly. No trouble at all, I do ask though that next your son is reminded to not touch or pick up any of the exhibits, thank you."

The family left after a little more persuasion, the mom leaving their number if the museum decided on any needs for compensation. The truth of the matter was the miniatures were the most likely exhibit needing repairs, they were bumped, picked up, played with, and dropped the more often than all other mishaps in the museum combined. Nothing came close to how often McPhee sent a damaged miniature to the wax figurine makers to be replaced.

He sighed as he tucked the packaging under his arm and headed to his office, one hand holding the wax miniature. Calling the makers was simple enough, they had this figurine on file and the mold would be ready as soon as the old one got there to melt and fix.

The little guy was a mess, wax smushed and blended together in places, one leg bent at a funny angle, spine crooked, face smashed in. Little guy was beat up pretty bad. Oh well, time for a new one apparently...

xxx

"Mr. Daley! A moment if you will."

"Sure Dr. McPhee." Larry hid his surprise well as the curator stopped him from locking up as he left, "What's up?"

"Some little kid tried to take one of the miniatures out of the museum, the mum stopped him of course but in the process of getting it back, the kid tossed the figurine across the room. Banged it right up pretty good."

Larry winced, the miniatures were fragile enough when alive and able to react, frozen as wax was another story, "How bad?"

Dr. McPhee shrugged, "Bad enough I'm running it down to the wax makers on 57th street, they'll drop off the new one in the morning before opening hours so I expect you to be here to receive it and put it in its place."

"Replacement? So it'll be exactly the same?"

"Of course, happens all the time...goodnight now!"

Before the night guard could ask anymore the curator was gone and in a taxi, leaving Larry shaking his head and pondering just which Miniature got 'manhandled'.

xxx

Another night at the museum was in full swing before Larry thought about what McPhee said again, and only because Octavius came looking for him, in a rather sour mood at that, which wasn't normal considering the circumstances.

Teddy followed the night guard back to the Hall of Miniatures, and helped settle the population of the Old West diorama as they were in hysterics.

That's when it made more sense...the missing Miniature wasn't just some random one a kid had picked up.

Jedidiah was missing...

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
**


	11. Breakdown-Part Two

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To Huskygirl1998: O.O now that is a cool prompt! Thank you so much! :):):):):):)  
**

**To Avian: Yes and no, just have to wait and see! Thank you so much!  
**

**To EgyptianAngel: Yes Jed, sorry but it needed to be done...Thank you so much! Everyone wants those two wow!**

**To _tails267, La chica distraida, snowflakeangel21, Vasunshinegrl96, peaceout0311, Oddments and Tweaks, Javana, RozenBlitz, rene10, AleuStark, Royal Nightingale, Tell me you're still you, LeFandomFreak, Phoenix Moon 00, XxBagheeraxX, Black Angel and Snowflake, Potterhead2468Gleekforlife, Jacquelina-Comm, child of the moon2000, albinita, UniqueOpal, DI-Time-Lady, Hoowee, MsEdge, meriland25, SamuraiNinjaDragon, SavvyTimeLord007_: Thank you for the follows and faves!  
**

*****Here's to Mythicalnightguard for this awesome idea and collaboration!******

**There's over 200 reviews are you kidding me?! Wow! Thank you so much!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven  
**

**Breakdown-Part Two  
**

Xxx _November__  
_

A night without the infamous Jedidiah Smith was honestly weird, Larry didn't always see the miniatures every night, but was at least aware of their antics. This time around Octavius was left to his own devices, and remained in the Hall of Miniatures with his people. Larry had explained what Dr. McPhee had told him before the curator had left, and while everyone accepted it like it was normal, and in reality it was...it didn't stop the night guard from having a bad feeling about the coming nights.

After dawn touched the museum and the humming warmth Larry barely noticed anymore disappeared, everything was left in silence. The night guard leaned on the door frame by the loading dock, waiting for the wax makers to show up with their delivery. Five minutes after sunset the rumbling white van paused long enough to hand him the white paper wrapped package, receiving little more than a nod of thanks from the night guard as the looks of exhaustion on both men's faces kept conversation to nothing.

Larry unwrapped the package quickly; one-because he was tired and wanted to go to bed; and two-McPhee had warned him to check the quality and take it back if it wasn't perfect.

The wax makers managed to pull off another miracle by museum stand points, molding out a new cowboy overnight without any issues. Normally a replacement took over a week, but these guys always managed to come out on top for quality and speed.

With a soft sigh, Larry looked over the frozen Jed, slightly fatherly instincts counting out the tiny fingers in the gloves and checking over the face and clothing. A flawless three inch tall Jedidiah Smith.

Per their requests, Larry set the wax figurine down towards the back of the diorama; first time waking up for an exhibit, whether a replacement or not, was disorienting, and while Jed had probably been replaced the most out of all of them, several of the Old West miniatures had insisted he be set down near familiar faces to make sure the night's start was smooth. It would only take at the very most half an hour for the tablet to ease off the confusion and let Jed be himself again, but until they were sure, everyone was going to give him space.

xxx

Waking up was familiar; the dull, cold feeling from the day ebbed off into lively warmth that filled his limbs and released his lungs to breathe again. The first inhale made him cough and he fell to his knees, rubbing at his chest as it stretched to take in breaths for what felt like the first time in years. Someone was at his side, holding his arm and shoulder to brace him upright as he rubbed at his eyes, careful of the leather gloves on his hands...first time seeing the light hurt...Somehow he knew it wasn't the sun...

His mind started to catch up with him, his death-the dioramas-the museum-the tablet...oh that made more sense now...The someone holding him was talking softly, like one would to a flighty colt. Reassuring him everything was fine...to take it easy...just breathe...

"Oh for cryin' out loud Caleb! Quit yer blabbin' and help me up!"

Caleb smiled, pushing himself to his feet before pulling his boss to a standing position, both Caleb and Will bracing Jed as he swayed slightly before his legs got the idea of holding him up.

The younger cowboy whistled, "My thet's a rec'rd boss, not even five minutes and ya already good to go!"

"An' whatcha meanin' by thet?" He snarked, running his hands through his hair and frowning at the still unruly blonde curls, never laid flat...

Will smirked, "Aw c'mon Jed, ya know what happens! Wax day figure got busted up and ya got replaced agin, ya only took a few minutes to get fixed up."

Jedidiah chuckled with them, mind catching up now faster, yeah his day "self" was one to get broken easily. He stretched as life filled his limbs even further, his tiny body just about humming with energy. Will and Caleb smiled as their foreman clapped them on the back, marching off just fine towards where his horse was tied up and waiting.

"Let's go boys! Another night!"

xxx

Octavius left the Old West Diorama alone for a good hour before he headed over to check on his friend, he'd passed his time inspecting his troops and now the formality was wearing on him, funny how things had changed. The general ducked through the tunnel between the two areas, waving to those who passed him to visit Rome. All were in high spirits and enjoying this young night.

It took him a minute to spot Jedidiah once on the Old West's side of the tunnel, the cowboy had his back turned and was on his horse, helping to "sort" cattle or whatever that meant. Octavius stood back and just watched, while he liked aiding his friends, the cows were a lot bigger than him...even miniature ones...

The cowboys soon finished their work, two groups moving the sorted cows to their respective pens before Will rode up beside Jedidiah, nudging the blonde and pointing to Octavius with a smile before heading off to do whatever. Jed glanced over his shoulder, eyes searching before locking on the roman general and receiving a wave in return. The cowboy tugged the reins on his horse, wheeling it around and spurring its sides to get into an all out charge.

His roman friend assumed the cowboy was in a hurry and wanted to get going quickly, he balanced on his toes to be able to jump better, holding his arm out like and Jed had practiced where the cowboy and Octavius would grab each others forearms and the one on the ground would swing up onto the horse behind the other.

Octavius breathed deeply, preparing himself for the grab as he stretched his arm out and watched the horse carefully. Jed's hand was already reaching out for him.

Next thing the roman knew he was flat on his back. Arm aching from where the horse's chest had collided with it, chest hurting from where Jed had flat out kicked him, and throat bleeding a little as Jed's reaching hand had snagged his helmet plume and yanked him off his feet, causing the throat draw to cut the soft skin.

Octavius rolled to his feet in confusion, staring as Jedidiah pulled his horse back from it's all out charge and wheeled the mount back around, eyes ablaze in anger as he drew one of his guns.

"Jedidiah! What in the name of the gods-"

"Shut up ya roman savage! What in the hell is wrong wi' ya?!"

"What?! What on earth are you speaking of my friend?"

Jed's jaw tightened as he leveled the pistol with Octavius' chest, "Friend? Naw, I ain't friends with no roman asses...why the hell are ya on our side? No trespassin'!"

Octavius froze, looking his friend over in desperation, Jedidiah looked fine, but something just wasn't right about this. "Jedidiah please! Listen to me, there is nothing against Romans coming to visit the West at night, the treaty-"

A bullet suddenly hit the sand by his feet, making Octavius jump back in a panic. Jed _never_ shot at him...

"By Jupiter what is wrong with you?! You could have hit me!"

"I should've...damned toga boys...buncha sissy skirt wearers 's all ya are! Get back where ya came from before I make ya!"

"No! I refuse to leave until you tell me what is going on! Why will you not listen to me?! You are my friend, my ally..."

Jedidiah shifted in the saddle, one eye squinting to check his aim with his gun as he brought it back up to be level with the roman general's chest. Octavius' conscience was telling him to back down, but his heart wouldn't let him, not until he made his dear friend understand...to listen...why was Jedidiah mad at him?

"Jedidiah! Please! Why are you upset with me? What have I done? Tell me so I may rectify my mistake my friend! I only wish to-"

**_*BANG*_**

The gunshot reverberated throughout the Diorama, and not just because the gun went off, but because it hit Octavius square in the chest.

xxx

Caleb had gone running the second the first gunshot went off, worrying for Jed. Will didn't bother, thinking his boss and long time friend was messing around, a little cocky with first night jitters. When the second gunshot rang out with the echo of the bullet striking metal, then the Western second in command started running.

Lucky for them Octavius was fine, his bronze breast plate had stopped the bullet from hitting his heart but he'd have one nasty of a bruise beneath the metal, chain mail, and leather armor. The bullet left one heck of a dent. Caleb and Eric were holding Jed still as a pair of roman foot soldiers helped their general to his feet, having also come looking for the source of all the noise.

Octavius stared at the furious Jedidiah in shock, and in pain, his chest ached like none other, but he was more worried about his friend who was trying everything eh could to get loose from his captors.

"What is the meaning of this Jedidiah?!"

The cowboy glared, finally wrenching free from Caleb's and Will's grips, "Ya got ten seconds ta high tail it outta 'ere, 'fore I make ya."

The roman general narrowed his eyes, tone sharp and forceful, "And if I do not leave?"

"Then ya bett'r be ready fer a world a hurt."

Will winced, trying to tug Jed back and talk to him. Caleb was outright terrified, Jed didn't get mad like this...not since the new night guard had taken over.

Octavius scowled, shrugging off his men's help as he stalked forward to meet Jed halfway, "Are you declaring war on the Roman Empire?"

Jed's voice oozed sarcasm, "Naw, I'm declarin' war on the moon, what the hell is wrong wi' ya!? Course I am!"

Neither man said anything for several tense minutes, then Octavius nodded sharply, "So be it. A war you wish to wage on Rome, than a Roman war you shall get."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

The two turned at the same time, stalking away with a vengeance. Octavius marching back to Rome to summon his troops, while Jedidiah was already yelling for men to mount up and get their guns.

It was going to be one helluva night.

xxx

Now Larry didn't mind historical battle reenactments, truth be told they were really interesting to him and even after getting the job at the Natural History Museum he still liked them. For the plain fact that while they showed history in detail, they were also safe, no one was hurt, and everyone went home happy.

The night guard didn't even mind it when the Civil War dummies did a mock demonstration for Nicky one night to help with a homework assignment, the dummies didn't blow each other up and mostly helped point things out on a map to demonstrate army movements.

What Larry didn't tolerate was the Old West and Roman diorama populations "reenacting" anything...or even demonstrating something as for people so small they had a tendency to cause a lot of damage once going strong.

Least to say he wasn't happy when Sacajawea found him that night to say the Hall of Miniatures was a battle ground.

xxx

Teddy and Larry stood at the entrance to the Hall, both extremely frustrated as they took in the scene. The battle was in full swing, catapults with flaming balls flying from the Roman lines, backed by arrows and swords; guns and smoke and dynamite blazing from the westerners' side, and neither showed signs of slowing. Neither 'normal' size man could find the two leaders of the populaces, Jed and Octavius were somewhere deep in the throngs of their warring people.

"Lawrence? Suggestions?"

The night guard sighed before patting his walkie talkie, glad he and the president had started using them to help coordinate managing the exhibits.

"Head down to the basement and turn on the sprinklers for a couple seconds, just enough to tame the fire balls and get their attention, I'll take it from there..."

Teddy nodded and head off, shaking his head at the Miniatures' antics.

A minute later his voice beeped over the radio, warning Larry of the impending rain.

...one...two...three...

And done, the Miniatures had reacted just how Larry had wanted them to, mildly freaking out with shouts and then turning to see him when he stomped his foot on the floor a couple times, the vibrations catching their attentions.

"Alright you guys, Romans to this side, West to the other, Jed and Octavius get your butts to the center bench."

The two populations seemed to accept the orders gladly, most helping each other up and brushing them down before retreating. Made no sense that they had been fighting and now were apologizing and helping their "enemies".

Rome was easy to talk to, the military ranks and quick organization allowed easy counting of everyone to assess damage, and the third in command was more than happy to tell his side of things, saying Octavius had come back from the Old West diorama earlier and said Jedidiah had declared war. No one honestly wanted to fight but they were too loyal to their leaders to declare mutiny.

It was the same from the Old West, Octavius had come over like normal after about an hour after sunset to see Jed, no one had heard their conversation but it ended with two Romans escorting Octavius away while Jed called his men to arms. The westerners had hated having to fight as well, no one was hurt besides the select few who had been closest to Jed fighting, the rest had faked it...mostly, some got a little carried away with the battle fever, but the injuries were rather small in all consideration.

After having the two populations return to their dioramas, and closing the tunnels for the night, Larry turned to the center bench, sighing as he now had to hear from the two leaders he thought were getting along just fine.

What surprised him was the differences between the two. Octavius was relatively unharmed besides a wicked dent on his breast plate, his second in command, Titus, who stood nearby was also fine, as was the cowboy Caleb. Jed was the only one really beat up as he'd probably been the only one really fighting. Will had a black eye, but judging by how hard he and Caleb were struggling to contain the fighting Jed between them, it was unlikely a Roman had hit him.

Jed was downright furious, trying to lunge at Octavius who stood there calmly with a little bit of exasperation and confusion.

Larry tried to ask what happened, but Jed's cursing was getting ridiculous.

"Guys cover your ears."

Will, Caleb, Octavius, and Titus all did so, jamming gloved fingers in or slamming their palms over just before Larry snapped his fingers right next to Jed who had started to run at the Romans when his men let him go. The sudden loud noise made him stop, shaking his head in pain as he backed off.

Will had apparently had enough of fighting his friend and boss, he yanked Jed back while the blonde was still disoriented by the loud noise and probably ringing ears, taking the cowboy's red bandana and using it as a gag before tying his hands behind his back after removing his guns.

"That'll teach ya...calm down Jed!"

The blonde slumped to the bench wood in defeat, no longer struggling but still highly unlikely to listen to them, at least it allowed Larry to talk. The night guard hated having to use pain to get their attentions, even using the sprinkler was pushing it but he hadn't had a better option at the time.

"Ok sorry about that...Caleb you got Jed for now?"

"Yessir."

"Good, Octavius what the heck is going on?"

The roman general sighed, shoulders slumping as he moved to sit down on the bench back before speaking, "I am not fully sure my liege, I visited the western diorama after allowing Jedidiah and hour to reorient himself, expecting for the two of us to enjoy the night like normal. To my surprise within moments Jedidiah attacked me, branding me as a traitor-a trespasser-a savage-he threatened me with bodily harm and with war on Rome, he actually _shot_ me, leaving a dent in my armor...when I tried to reason with him and get answers as to his strange behavior he threatened me further and declared war...I did not order my men to arms until Jed's own people had begun attacking, I did not wish to harm anyone my liege...I beg you understand this..."

Larry nodded, sighing heavily but ensuring the rush of air didn't hit the miniature men, "I do Octavius, everyone's saying the same thing, Will, you or Caleb have anything to add?"

Will shook his head, arms crossed as he glanced at the still tense Jed, "No sir."

Caleb shifted, "The Boss 'ere woke up normal like, nothin' wrong at all...then aft'r the firs' shot I went ta go see what was wrong...Jed acted like he dinna know who the General was..."

The night guard shook his head, not knowing what to do as he glanced around, Jed shifted, fighting against the rope binding his hands. His bangs moved with him, the unruly hair moving and showing his fiery blue eyes, and the gaze within them made them all nervous.

xxx

Larry sighed as he set the now frozen Jed down on the desk in the security office, just before sunrise Will had untied his boss, allowing the night guard to take the cowboy away as his aggression didn't go away as they'd sat there talking, it had only gotten worse.

The little cowboy looked so different now as the wax miniature stood on the desk while Larry sat on the chair staring at him. Confusion and concern kept the night guard from leaving just yet, he couldn't wrap his head around why Jed was all of sudden so downright irritable towards the Romans.

With a sigh, Larry let his thoughts wander back to that conversation and the inevitable removal of the cowboy from the Hall, for everyone's safety...

The look within Jed's eyes when he'd looked up at last had made Will take a step back and Octavius sigh in frustration, and had Larry a little on edge. He'd had Caleb remove the gag so Jed could speak, the cowboy a little more subdued by that point.

"Jed...what the heck is going on man? If I let you go will you behave now?"

The cowboy had shaken his head, still trying to wrench from Will's grasp as he'd managed to get back to his feet.

Watching his friend carefully, Octavius had tried to reason with him, and just thinking back on it made Larry even more confused, "Jedidiah, please explain what is going on with you this evening...we are all concerned-"

Jed's sudden interruption had startled all of them, his tone was bitter and angry, but his words were what kept them all in shock.

"Ya come any closer toga boy an' I'll kill ya."

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
**


	12. Breakthrough-Part Three

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To Huskygirl1998: Yes...I know...I keep messing that up...don't worry something awesome will happen, read on! Thank you! Neat ideas! umm...hmmm...no idea, it's not mentioned in the movies at all Ahk's age, we just assume he's 18-20 because of looks wise, actor wise in the first film Rami Malek was 25.  
**

**To Avian: Here's the rest! Thank you!**

**To Avian (second review): Awesome idea! And I'll get distracted easily so...takes me awhile to bounce around between topics...**

**To NatM-Fan: well of course! I would not leave you all hanging! Tada! Thank you!**

**To EgyptianAngel: No! Don't punch Jed! Read on lovely reader/reviewer it gets better! Thank you!**

**To _divergentlover523, Silent Phantom, TheTimeLady125, Kissy Heartbreak, Caillet, pianimissimopiper, WhySoSerious1992, alyssiusyouk, DancingKitKat, booklover7161, Lady Isaiah, Bijuui9, TEAMLEO4THEWIN, horsequeen1379, QueenPersephoneOfHades, BirdSpell, guardian of art and bravery, Carosylics, stephanieeisenstaedt, bowsie22, SilverShadowKat19, FlamyAngelwings, snakeyeslover2, TheLadyKnightOfEdoras, AwkwardHolmes, Tarica, LuciS39, 12HPfan7, Queen of Letters, YoukoMeh, paninya, DeidaraHoshika, Proud Olympian, Apol31, JustAGirlWithAnImagination, SaphiralovesTolkien, TraptWolf94, Stargazing Strangers, The Unforgettable Beauty, Ajhtrumpet, professor ita-chan, Kedi, Madame Reveuse, lealover1, MsMerlein, GrellSutcliffTheBloodiedRose, Little Juniper Tree, LoneAngel666, N3ss13, Rayven Lilith Sky, powergirl1, Lady-of-Stone, Radwoman, Robyn Flynn, Monar, XIII-Jinx-XIII, boasamishipper, ReaderRoo, Silver Cherry Bloom, XIII-Jinx-XIII, 2late2begin, AlectoRuby, Lovinglolipop0402, Ickypicky892_: Thank you for the follows and faves!  
**

*****Here's to Mythicalnightguard for this awesome idea and collaboration!******

**There's over 200 reviews are you kidding me?! Wow! Thank you so much!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve  
**

**Breakthrough-Part Three  
**

Xxx _November__  
_

Larry Daley, night guard, hobby inventor, and sometimes a therapist/mediator between warring exhibits, could handle just about anything the New York Museum of Natural History threw at him. Yet he dragged his feet all the way to work that evening before sunset. Sitting in his locker was the wax figurine of Jedidiah, who would soon wake up again and Larry would have to figure out what the heck was going on. Least to say he wasn't looking forward to the full darkness of the night.

The desk only took a couple minutes to clear, anything that Jed could hurt himself on was moved somewhere else so the cowboy had space once he woke up.

Wax figurine on the desk one minute, three inch tall cowboy stretching and rubbing at his eyes the next. Larry had watched exhibits freeze before, coming to life was something he hadn't ever really watched. Bit strange to be hones, Jed's coloring both brightened to be more natural looking, and evened out to look less painted. The cowboy blinked in the bright light, rubbing as his face before looking around in confusion.

"Evening Jed...mind talking to me about what happened last night?"

The cowboy didn't answer right away, eyes narrowed as he stared at Larry, Jed looked the night guard over up and down, examining his uniform and looking around the security office in confusion.

"Uh Jed...Talk to me man, what's going on?"

When the blue eyes finally met his, the look on Jed's face shook Larry to the core before he even spoke.

"Who in tarnation are you?"

That wasn't good...

Xxx

Jed had gone off on a tangent about not knowing who the heck this guy was, and after five minutes the strange night guard was just as confused as the cowboy was so he interrupted the tirade by knocking his fist on the desk top.

"Alright...alright...Let me take you back to the Hall of Miniatures at least...then the...uh other night guards will come and talk to you...just let me rake you back to your Diorama."

The cowboy sighed, running his hands through his hair before nodding, stepping onto the man's offered hand after a moment's hesitation. The argument between the two hadn't been pleasant to say the least and Jed just wanted to go hide in his tent for the rest of the night, he'd had a headache since the middle of the battle yesterday and just wanted to get some rest and hope it went away.

Riding on the new guy's hand was weird, Cecil or Reginald usually carried the miniatures by their collars or trapping them in their pockets, not showing this much kindness ever. It worried the cowboy...if this guy was anything like Gus or the others...it wasn't going to end well for him or the other miniatures.

This guy kept to his word though, carrying Jed quickly and safely to the Hall of Miniatures without any 'detours' or getting 'sidetracked'. Barry or Larry or whoever this guy was , was careful with his movements, especially on the stair case, he cupped his other hand around the one Jed was standing on to ensure the miniature didn't fall while the full size man moved.

Jed was starting to get really confused and worried, this guy had the night guard uniform and the set of keys, he obviously worked here...but there was no way he was this calm after being here for only a couple nights...Jed would know too, he was always finding ways out of the Hall even after lock up so a new night guard wouldn't have gone unnoticed. That and the other three night guards weren't shy in keeping everyone informed.

Jed was just getting comfortable enough to brace a hand on the new guy's thumb to remain standing as they moved when the pair reached the Hall of Miniatures, Jed stiffened a little as he looked around, the front gate was open as were all three glass Diorama panels, nothing was locked up.

The confusion didn't ease, but the new guy did honor Jed's request to be set down at the entrance instead of at the Old West Diorama.

"See ya later Jed…"

The cowboy nodded, waving half-heartedly as the night guard left to head somewhere else. Jed sighed, looking around the hall and seeing all three dioramas active and happy, songs drifted from the Old West, the familiar tunes easing his heart and mind as he smirked a little. The Mayans were relatively peaceful, some were watching him but otherwise ignored his presence on the floor. Rome was at peace as well, lines of soldiers marching in synchronized movements and chariots were being tended to with horses nearby. Yet like the Old West, Rome was missing someone, and Jed found the other lone miniature under the center bench.

Xxx

Larry rubbed at his face, walking quickly away from the Hall of Miniatures and heading to track down Ahkmenrah and Theodore Roosevelt, if anyone had any ideas on what to do with Jed, it was those two. Teddy for his experience with museum inhabitants, and Ahk for his knowledge on the tablet. Something was seriously wrong…

The president and pharaoh were lounging comfortably on the staircase, laughing and listening to Attila's story telling, the Hun making exaggerated hand movements as he spoke.

"...byatskhan shuvuu tunnii khumuusteisahk butsaj enkh taivny jims ni tuunii uur ruu nissen."

Larry clapped politely with Teddy and Ahk as Attila finished his tale, bowing a little at the waist as he chuckled, smiling widely as the night guard moved closer.

"Sain oroi shoniin kharuul."

Larry knew the last word in that sentence meant 'guard' so he assumed it was a greeting, smiling as he patted Attila's shoulder as he sat down next to him. "Hey Attila, how's it hanging?"

The Hun smiled, waving to them all as he stood and headed downstairs.

"Good evening Lawrence, how is the night faring?"

Larry sighed softly as he leaned back against the railing, "Not good Teddy...had Jed in the security office during the day so I could talk to him as soon as he woke up, he wasn't happy about it-"

"Well that's not surprising, none of us take kindly to waking up somewhere other than where we were when sunrise arrived."

"Teddy he doesn't know who I am."

The president's brow furrowed, Ahk shifting to lean closer to Larry as the night guard shrugged helplessly. "I beg your pardon?"

Larry nodded, "Jed didn't recognize me, he knows who I am from last night when I stopped the fighting, but other than that he thinks I'm some new guard the previous guys brought in without telling anyone...he was scared of me...and kept asking what kind of prank Cecil or Gus was trying to pull on the Miniatures. I finally took him back to the Hall of Miniatures just so he'd calm down. Guys he doesn't remember anything about me being here…"

Ahkmenrah glanced to Teddy when the president groaned softly.

"Not again…"

"Teddy?"

Teddy sighed, pulling off his glasses and beginning to clean them, "Lawrence you know the Miniatures are easily damaged while in their wax day state, most of them have been replaced at least once due to just wear and tear of being so small. Jedidiah...has been replaced probably the most often out of all the miniatures. This doesn't really affect them besides usually being gone for a night or two. When they get back all fixed up or even completely new...they've always woken up relatively fine...seems the tablet restores memories."

Ahkmenrah nodded, speaking up when Larry glanced to him, "It is part of the healing, the memories that preserve the tablet are the memories part of those who are brought back to life each night."

"Unfortunately," Teddy sighed again as the pharaoh finished, "There have been the rather infrequent occasions where something hasn't gone quite right upon reawakening...some memories haven't always carried over…"

"How do we fix this? Jed's willing to lead war on Rome and not knowing who I am...this is bad…"

Teddy looked away for a moment, tone saddened and soft when he finally spoke again, "I do not know…"

Xxx

Gaius Octavius was a relatively calm man, he had to be when commanding legions of men who had to follow him into battle and most likely their deaths. And he also had to be calm considering he was only three inches tall in a museum filled with other exhibits several thousand times his size. Now he'd kept his cool while in battle against armies outnumbering his own by the hundreds, he'd kept calm when staring down the Roman Senate, he'd kept his calm dealing with rude and inconsiderate night guards, he'd kept his calm when aiding in saving the museum. Yet when it came to his closest friend suddenly wanting him dead…

Octavius was most certainly not calm…

Instead he sat against the center bench in the Hall of Miniatures, tucked by the far set of legs as he stared out over the floor, deep in thought. Being so small he could feel the floor vibrations when a full size person walked to the entrance of the Hall, judging by the sound of jingling keys it was Larry. Octavius didn't get up to meet the night guard, it would take a lot of effort on a good night for the guard to notice just one miniature on the floor halfway across the room, that and the Roman just didn't care at the moment. Larry made his rounds a couple times a night and always ducked his head into the Hall to quickly check on everyone, this was no different.

The night guard's footsteps faded away and Octavius sighed heavily, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back against the wooden bench leg as his fingers played with his helmet plume, tugging and straightening the strands.

Soft metallic clinks were coming closer, another miniature, Octavius didn't look up when they stopped a couple miniature yards away (really it was only about twelve inches).

The new arrival shifted a little, not speaking for several minutes, finally catching Octavius' attention when they cleared their throat a little.

The roman sighed as he opened his eyes, tilting his head enough to look at the blonde cowboy, "What is it you want Jedidiah?"

Jed didn't answer right away, shifting a bit in apprehension, Octavius didn't miss how the man's hand twitched as if to reach for a gun. "I...I came ta talk…"

Octavius hid his surprise, but his tone betrayed his thoughts, "About?"

"This…" Jed shrugged as he gestured around a bit helplessly, eyes still hard in defense, but his shoulders weren't tense like they had been last night.

"This what?"

"Why ya know so much 'bout me...for starters…"

Octavius sighed, shaking his head as he stood up, fingers sliding along his helmet tie and glaring at the blood still staining the leather. He managed to keep his voice from shaking when he spoke, but his tone was still hesitant and sad, "You...and I...we are friends...or I guess used to be…"

Jed snorted, hands that had been on his hips, crossed over his chest, leaning on one leg as he shook his head, "Right...so ya say…"

The Roman let the sarcasm be, knowing it was no use arguing about his own validity, "Jedidiah...you do not remember any of what I say for some reason...which I swear mist be the cause of this confusion you are experiencing."

The cowboy only shook his head, glaring daggers at the other man, "There ain't nothin' confusin' 'bout a Roman who's lost his mind."

"If I had lost my senses, why or yet how even would I know who you are?"

Jed was getting frustrated, throwing his hands up in the air as he started pacing angrily, "Cause ya got spies all 'round, I know it! They're all 'roud, watchin' me an' my men an' gatherin' info'mation ta aid ya in this stupid trick yer playin'!"

Octavius took a moment to keep his composure, ensuring his voice was calm and steady, "And have you proof of this espionage?"

"Well...well...no...but-"

"The what have you to say to explain this?"

Jed spluttered for a moment, eyes narrowed at Octavius' calm demeanor.

"Well...aw nothin'! But I ain't buyin' yer tall tale 'ere!"

"Jedidiah," Octavius sighed, rubbing at his face in exhaustion before shoving his helmet back on his head, "I beg you just listen to me. Something is very wrong. You are not you. You are changed somehow. But I do not know why or how, and cannot tell you-"

"What the hell are ya talkin' 'bout?! See...spies or somethin'! How would ya know what I'm like?!"

That did it, Octavius could maintain his cool when someone was questioning his own honesty, but when it came to his men being threatened, nothing held him back, his calm demeanor vanished as frustration and concern took over, his tone harsh and angry...and desperate.

"Because we are friends! You know me as well as I know you. You must know-you must feel it! By Jupiter Jedidiah, you must remember something! Anything for the gods sakes! Even a small, seemingly nothing memory in back of your mind...or just a feeling that something isn't right with how you are acting...

Jed started to back away from him, hands held out defensively as he shook his head, he'd tensed again, body tight and angry as he glared, "I-I don't know what yer yakkin' 'bout...I don' know you...I never did! And I sure as heck ain't friends with no lyin' Romans!"

Octavius groaned, tossing his hands in the air in exasperation as he started to pace away. His mind was racing to help his friend, yet even his heart was beginning to be weighed down with dread. What if he couldn't help Jed remember? What had that stupid tablet done to cause this? It was supposed to heal them...revive their historical selves to live again at night...tablet...Ahkmenrah…

His voice did shake this time as it came out barely a whisper, "Ahkmenrah."

Jed scowled, hands on his hips when the Roman turned back around, "What? Ahken...who?"

"Ahkmenrah...he is the owner of the tablet, perhaps he can make you remember…"

The cowboy snorted, almost laughing as he shook his head in disbelief, "The mummy?"

"No! No, the pharaoh. He can help us-"

"Us?" Jed's interruption was fast and sounded like he thought Octavius was crazy, "Ain't no us...sides ya gotta be crazy. That screamin' an' hollerin' mummy has been locked up since the first night."

Now Octavius was starting to get as confused as Jed was already, "No...he's been let out every night for years now. You were there when he was freed. You fought alongside him when the old night guards tried to steal the-"

Jed stepped forward, hands balling into fists, "I sure as heck never fought beside no monster mummy...an' I don' know you. That mummy's been locked up fer years. An' those ole night guards...don' know where in hell they got to...got some new guy walkin' aroun'-"

"You mean Larry? Jedidiah, he's been here at the museum for two years now, the others retired-"

"What?!" Jed tossed his hands into the air, growling as he stalked away angrily, stopping after a few steps and spinning around. "Retired...no way josé...those nuts ain't gone no where…"

The cowboy started to walk away again, only stopping after a moment when Octavius' hesitant voice stopped him.

"Jedidiah…"

"What?"

The roman's tone was confused, eyes not meeting Jed's as his voice shook, "What year is it?"

Jed groaned, rolling his eyes as he glanced over his shoulder, scowling at the Roman, "1998...has been for eight months now…"

Before the cowboy could continue the Roman was at his side, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around.

"Jedidiah! Please! Listen to me! Something is wrong! You must understa-"

"No!" Jed almost ended up smacking Octavius across the face as he jerked free, backing away angrily, "I ain't listenin' ta nothin' ya'va gotta say! Now ya listen to me...I don't know who ya are, an' what sorta fan'asy ya've got 'side that tin can'a yers, but I'm sick an' tired of these lies! Now git' yer sorry butt outta here 'fore I shoot ya dead right here!"

Octavius slumped, sighing in defeat as he nodded, backing away to show he was complying with the request before turning fully.

Jed roared out in anger, and the Roman turned to watch the cowboy punch the wooden bench leg beside him before stalking towards the Old West Diorama, muttering under his breath angrily as he rubbed at his temples like he was in pain.

The roman watched him leave, groaning softly as he rubbed at his eyes in exhaustion, tired to his very core. The roman glanced over to his Diorama, ensuring all was well by judging the flags flying, glad everyone had established codes to communicate. As his eyes scanned, they fell on a black object tucked by the bench on the floor, to a passing museum visitor or employee it could have easily been just a piece of trash to be swept up if they even saw it. To the general...it was the most monumental thing he'd seen all night.

Jedidiah's Black Stetson

Xxx

Hearing the sound of the RC truck Larry had most recently gotten for Jed and Octavius coming up behind him made the night guard turn from where he was looking over the tablet with Ahkmenrah and Teddy. The car skidded around a corner and almost flipped, barely making into the Egyptian exhibit. Teddy even had to lean down to physically stop the car when it approached his foot.

Octavius stumbled out of the driver's side door and into Larry's waiting hand, a little shaky on his feet as a hand went to straighten his helmet, the other held tightly to a black cowboy hat.

"My apologies...I am not as proficient as driving the automobile as I thought."

Larry smirked as he shifted his fingers so Octavius could brace himself properly, "What's up Octavius?"

"I have some news...Jedidiah does not remember you, my liege, at all-"

"Yeah I got that earlier tonight when he was chewing me out-"

The general shook his head, interrupting the night guard, "No you do not understand...he does not remember you because he does not know what year it is...he believes it is August in the year 1998...not November of 2007. He still believes the three former night guards work here..."

Larry's eyes narrowed as he glanced up at Teddy and Ahkmenrah, the pharaoh looking just as confused as the night guard. The president on the other hand had his eyes shut and was rubbing the bridge of his nose as he muttered under his breath.

"...-gust nineteen ninety eight...summer...President Clinton was in office...Hurricane Bonnie...power went out...Great Scott!"

Octavius flinched in Larry's hand when Roosevelt snapped his fingers, the sharp noise making the miniature groan loudly in pain.

"Teddy?"

"Oh my sincere apologies Octavius my good man, that was not intentional-"

"None taken-"

"-Lawrence, August 1998 Hurricane Bonnie hit New York, the museum was under maintenance at the time and lost power for several nights as it was not a priority to be restored at the time..Something about the power grids and switching over, I really have no idea. In those dark nights, the Hall of Miniatures was under constant lock down, most of us were for that matter for our own safety. But one of the nights when they were released before sunrise as normal, some of the rowdier ones went exploring for a bit, causing a fight to break out, in the chaos of calming them down by flashlights as sunrise hit the museum, one of the night guards dropped Jedidiah after he'd been frozen for the day-"

That made Larry stiffen slightly in anger but Teddy quickly calmed him down as the president continued, "It was better Jedidiah fall as wax and not flesh Lawrence, it would have been much worse. Furthermore Jedidiah as wax was sent to be repaired, as was usual in the situation, and was returned a few days later no issues. Now in 2004, a similar situation occurred and Jedidiah was replaced fully this time-"

"Teddy, what does that have to with Jed right _now_?"

The president pointed to the miniature black stetson in Octavius' hands, and the Roman turned it over to reveal a date etched into the felt in the inside, "That is the only remaining piece of Jed from 2003, this newly replaced Jed is just as the 1998 one...remember how we were discussing that the tablet ensures memories are maintained...that is why we wake up with knowledge of the museum each night instead of just as historical figured in the wrong time."

Larry nodded, "Yeah, and even when an exhibit is repaired they still maintain that."

Ahkmenrah spoke up at last, realization dawning, "If they are in one piece upon return, everything is fine. In 1998 Jed was completely replaced, in 2003 the damage was mild and did not need the wax mold. The tablet, when ensuring our memories are restored, focuses on the most recent piece of us as that is what the tablet recognizes. With the Jed walking around tonight being made from the old wax mold, and the hat having not been part of the repairs, the memories are split. The hat that has been part of the museum since your arrival-"

"And Jedidiah from 1998."

The pharaoh nodded as Larry understood, sighing as he rubbed at his face with his free hand.

"So...give Jed his hat back and everything will be fine?"

Teddy shrugged, Ahkmenrah no different, "Essentially yes that would work...I cannot guarantee it though...it may be Jedidiah needs to be replaced fully with all the pieces at once."

With a nod the night guard quickly left Ahk's exhibit, helping Octavius stay balanced on his hand as he walked back to the Hall of Miniatures.

"My liege?"

"Sorry Octavius, gotta get this figured out..."

xxx

Jedidiah wasn't pleased to be woken up. After his...discussion...with the roman general Octavius, his headache was so bad he'd retreated to his tent in the Diorama and just about collapsed on his cot, not even bothering to climb into his bed roll. His head was still pounding even when about an hour to sunrise Will came and woke him up, saying the night guard wanted him.

The cowboy groaned as he sat up, blinking as Will lit a lantern in his tent so he could see enough to pull his boots on. Jed rubbed at his face as he stood, stumbling a little as a painful throb to his head made his vision spin.

If the night guard crouching at the edge of the Diorama cared that Jed was only in his jeans and unbuttoned shirt, he didn't say anything, merely gave a half smile as the cowboy stopped in front of him.

"Whadda ya wan' now?"

"Came to return this, it was found on the floor and I figured you would want it back."

Jed watched the stranger night guard hold out his open hand, extending it slowly so Jed stood beside the outstretched hand with the cowboy's stetson on his palm.

Hesitantly, Jed took the hat back, holding it carefully in his ungloved hands before nodding in gratitude, the night guard gave a slightly wider smile before standing up and leaving without another word, waving to the couple of Old West miniatures who called out farewells and good mornings.

"Boss, you alright?"

Jed turned to Will suddenly standing beside him, nodding as his friend patted his shoulder, "Yeah...'m alright...gonna turn in, kinda tired."

Will nodded in understanding, and Jed trekked back to his tent, sighing as he slid past the heavy flap.

His rough cot never felt better as he laid back down, stretching out with a soft wince as his head pounded. Whether common sense or Will's knowledge of his boss kept the others away from his tent and the Diorama relatively quiet, Jed didn't care, he didn't fall asleep for a long while, barely making it into unconsciousness before sunrise touched the museum.

xxxi

xx

xxx

Waking up was just like normal, feeling the loss of the stiffness that took over during the day fade into a warmth the flowed energy through his veins...almost something he couldn't describe.

He grimaced as he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of his cot to sit properly. His clothes slid back on with ease, leather chaps creaking a little as he buckled the familiar straps around his waist and legs. He stretched slowly, checking his guns in his holsters before grabbing his hat off the wooden chest at the back of his tent.

Jamming it down over his blonde, messy hair was so familiar he didn't even realize he did it.

Until Jed collapsed to the ground...

xxx

Octavius was just completing his semi-weekly inspection of the barracks, and returning to work in his private quarters, when the sounds of someone making their way through the Rome Diorama rather loudly and obnoxiously made it to his ears.

He wasn't exactly expecting to find a rather tipsy Jed stumbling towards him while being supported by Marcus and Will.

The blonde cowboy was on the edge of being hilariously tipsy and roaring drunk, where in the heck he'd gotten the keys to the Mayor's secret stash was a question Octavius would never find the answer to. Right now he had to help his and Jed's second in command steady the cowboy on his feet as he swayed and almost face planted on the general's door step.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Will just shrugged, "Dunno sir, found the boss like this little while ago, knockin' back bottles fast'r than a man should be drinkin'. When I tol' 'im ta stop he demanded ta come see ya, so I reckon I better come too...not sure what got in his head to drink this much...made sure ta remove his guns this time."

Octavius nodded, grumbling as Jed just about fell forward after having stood on his one for a full minute, the general caught the cowboy as he went down, rolling his eyes in annoyance and shaking his head when Marcus moved to help his commander.

It took the roman a moment to get positioned properly as Jed struggled, then Octavius realized the cowboy wasn't fighting him...

Especially when Jed moaned softly, almost quiet enough Octavius didn't hear him, but the cowboy was clinging to the roman's arms like his life depended on it.

Not exactly what Octavius was expecting all things considered as of late.

"Thank you William, and Marcus. I can take it from here."

"Are you certain my liege?"

"Yes Marcus, I am sure. William, I will endeavor to have Jedidiah back within the Western Diorama by sunrise."

The brunette with the dusty tan hat chuckled, nodding before heading back to his camp with a wave. Marcus was hesitant to leave as well, but Octavius merely motioned for him to get moving, slinging one of Jed's arms over his shoulders and began to drag the stumbling cowboy inside. At least Marcus shut the door behind his commander, giving Octavius the privacy required for what he was about to do.

Which was dump Jedidiah on his butt as soon as he reached the lounge in his bedchamber.

The cowboy grunted as he landed on the lounge, struggling to sit up and only succeeding in getting dizzy and collapsing back against the cushions.

Octavius left him for a moment, returning with a pitcher of water, which was then up ended on Jedidiah's blonde head with little dignity.

At any other given time, Octavius would have at least cracked a smile if not even laughed at the way Jed spluttered with the water suddenly drenching his upper body. He thrashed enough as it was and fell off the lounge to hit the floor with an ungraceful thud.

He coughed, choking for a minute as Octavius set the empty pitcher on a nearby table, crossing his arms as he stared down at the cowboy in stony silence.

"...'m sorry Ockie..."

That wasn't expected...Octavius jumped a little as he watched Jedidiah, the cowboy wasn't looking anywhere but at the floor in front of him as he wiped the water from his eyes.

"I beg your pardon?"

Jed sighed softly, still not looking up as he managed to twist to lean up on an elbow, "...Said 'm sorry...screwed up..."

"No...no, after that?"

The cowboy finally looked up as Octavius crouched in front of him, "What? Ockie? 's what I call ya..."

The general stared in a mix of confusion and hope, hand gripping Jed's shoulder carefully as he spoke hesitantly, "Wha-what do you remember?"

A soft groan, Jed grimaced as he looked away again, "...e'rythin'...'speci'ly last couple a' nights...ne'er shoulda done that...Ockie I'm sorry..."

"It worked..."

"What?"

Octavius couldn't bite back a smile, "By Jupiter, it worked!"

Jed didn't hide his grunt of confusion as Octavius suddenly grabbed him in a hug, but at least the roman wasn't wanting to kill him for what the cowboy had done, so Jed merely smiled a little, hugging back good naturedly and meeting Octavius' gaze when the roman leaned back after a moment.

"We did not think this would succeed..."

"Alright..." Jed's eyes narrowed a little and he rubbed at them, grimacing at how much his head was spinning with the alcohol in him, "I know I musta done somethin' but what the hell happened Ockie?"

"You were damaged my friend, well your day wax self...again I might add, and I believe your hat was knocked from your person at the time...when you were repaired-"

"Missin' my hat so missin' most a' the memories...Had the same thin' 'appen ta the Mayor couple years ago...man was he a doozy til his wife tucked that damned neckerchief back in right."

Octavius rolled his eyes, "So you are aware of what happens when someone is missing a piece during repairs?"

Jed nodded, "Yeah...not uncommon on my side...ferget ta put things back on all the time and it messes with repairs...bound ta happen ta me one a' these days...er...nights."

His somber tone made Octavius' mood drop as Jed looked away again.

"Jedidiah-"

"Dammit...Ockie I'm sorry...ne'er shoulda aid any a' that...damn what in the hell was wrong wi' me? Didn't e'en listen ta Will and Caleb...let alone Gigantor! Aw man, I really screwed up!"

"You remember all of the last few nights?"

"Not properly...remember the night we had the big soccer game in the lobby..."

"That was Tuesday."

"What night is it now?"

"Saturday."

Jed groaned, "..'member Thursday...an'...the fight...oh for cryin' out loud I started a damn war!"

"Jedidiah! Calm down...what else do you remember?"

"I think Gigantor yelled at us...or at least me...that's a bit fuzzy...kinda think I woke up in the guard office...then las' night...had a bad headache...hurt to even blink...we talked for a spell didn't we?"

"Yes, and you told me the year was 1998."

Jed nodded, "That explains why it makes no sense...las' couple nights are real damned fuzzy...don't reckon I remember Wednesday at all."

Octavius sighed, "That was the night you were being repaired, or judging by the turnout your wax self was replaced, Larry delivered your missing hat to you last night before sunrise."

"Mhm...didn't put it on til tonight after I woke up...hurt like blazes for awhile but e'erythin' made sense again...damn I messed up..."

The roman only shook his head, grinning as he helped the cowboy to his feet.

"It is no use dwelling on the past my friend. But, might I ask why you decided to come to me heavily intoxicated?"

"I guess...I needed...no...*_sigh_*...drank ta make sense a' my head...tryna figure out what happened wi'out goin' aroun' lookin' the darned fool...only made it so I'll get a bigger headache 'fore sunup..."

The roman smirked a little, "I bet if you ask nicely Ahkmenrah will aid you in that."

"Aw shucks! Tell me I didn't say Ahk was a monster in front of him?!"

"No...I was the only one who heard that bit."

Jed sighed in relief, closing his eyes as his hands went to his face again, "Thank the Lord almighty on that one...dammit...I'm sorry Ockie."

"Jedidiah...I forgive you, this was not your fault all things considered, now come get cleaned up and we shall go speak with Ahkmenrah, and let Larry know you are alright. Though preferably see our resident pharaoh first seeing as you are quite unpresentable."

The cowboy glanced down as his more rugged than normal appearance, "I ain't that ba-"

*_crash_*

Octavius crossed his arms as Jed picked himself up off the floor again, having run into the table in front of him.

"Jedidiah...as you have put it to me before, you are 'drunker than a lizard in the liquor bottle'...I am impressed you are able to speak coherently."

Jed smirked, tugging his shirt back into place and knowing he had to at least try and clean up before going with Octavius to find their night guard and pharaoh, "That's 'cause it takes more than a few drinks ta get me that far gone."

"Oh my friend, I believe you've had more than a few..."

"Hey!"

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
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**Mongolian translations:**

**"**...byatskhan shuvuu tunnii khumuusteisahk butsaj enkh taivny jims ni tuunii uur ruu nissen.**"**

**"..._and the little bird flew' back to his nest with the peace fruit to share with his people."_**

**_"..._**Sain oroi shoniin kharuul."

_**"...Good evening night guard."**_


	13. Blizzard Warning

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To NatM-Fan: Yep! Larry will be playing with inventing now pretty soon and start heading into that part of his life and head towards the second movie. :D There will be quite a bit on the characters and Larry's departure. Thank you!**

**To EgyptianAngel: Ahk would probably question the cowboy's sanity and wonder where he himself went wrong. Yay no punching! Told ya it would work out! Thank you!**

**To Avian: Yep! I'm back! Got distracted...Thank you!**

**To Guest: Teddy is popular wow! He'll have a centered chapter soon, for now he gets some time with his love. Thank you!**

**To Guest #2: Yep the hat was the key, thank you!**

**To Kayla: Hi! To be honest Ahk's my favorite too XD Thank you so much!**

**To Avian: If I knew the answer to that I would be a published author by now and not have to pay student loans... ;D Wish I could translate this skill to writing a book lol. Thank you so much!**

**To _De Meru, TraptWolf94, physiquement intelligient, muhammadadibsikrirozalie3, Sheyla Ryddle, beckettlovescastlealways, Emrys Myrddin, Miss Eliza Lupin, The Hopeful, Abies, Mischief's Angel, A Sub-Creator, Sargent-Titan, jas-corr, Bon Qui Qui_: Thank you for the follows and faves!**

**xxx**

****Thank you to Minecraft Guardiansaiyan for the Jed/Oct bit, BookwormGal for Larry and his job versus being a parent, and Oddments and Tweaks and GrezzWizard for Teddy/Sacajawea cuteness. Tada!**  
**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen  
**

**Blizzard Warning  
**

Xxx _December 3rd, 2007__  
_

After working at the New York Museum of Natural History for going on two years, the job had taught Larry Daley a lot of things. Not counting everything about the whole 'museum comes to life at night' bit, he'd learned pretty quickly how to get things done in the early morning hours after clocking out when his body and mind were running on empty and desperately begging for coffee or sleep. Larry had learned the quickest routes across Central Park to Nick's school to walk his son there in the mornings and on the Wednesdays to bring him to the museum or apartment. Also on that list of things Larry had learned as a museum employee?

The day time security guard hated bad weather.

xxx

The Museum of Natural History _had_ to have a security guard on site at all times, there could be a bit of overlap or a short gap in between the day and night shifts, but other than that the priceless (ok not completely-most things had been appraised and wax figures were _not_ cheap) artifacts and relics were too valuable to go without a guard on duty.

Another thing the Museum needed? Someone to plow out the parking lot on a regular basis when New York City was getting a couple feet of snow predicted from the incoming blizzard.

Larry Daley was not amused when he was woken up by Clarise Renaldi, one of the museum board members, to come in to work...even though he had clocked out at 7:34am, walked Nicky to school, and then trudged home to collapse on his bed.

He had managed to acquire a whopping two hours and eighteen minutes of sleep.

Dr. McPhee and Mrs. Renaldi were in the curator's office when Larry arrived with a triple shot espresso coffee in one hand, and his uniform in a protective bag in the other. Least to say he wasn't amused by how wide awake and energetic the seventy year old board lady was as she babbled on about poor Joe Hendrick, the day guard, who just couldn't make into work with the impending weather...and would Larry be a dear and stay at the museum on double shift to watch the exhibits?

McPhee was just as exasperated with Clarise as Larry dropped into a chair as he stifled a yawn, rubbing at his eyes in exhaustion.

"Clarise darling-"

"Oh! I'm so sorry Mr. Daley you must be exhausted, being the night guard and all! Can I offer you some tea, love?"

Larry shook his head, taking a deep swig of his grande sized coffee cup before speaking, "No ma'am I'm fine with this."

"Alright then...now here's what you'll need to do, there's only a few patrons here this morning, the dreadful weather has unfortunately affected today's attendance in visitors, but anyhow every hour or so you will need to just make a brief round of the museum during the day. Then go about your regular night duties after closing time. Should all work out just fine!"

Before McPhee or Larry could speak again she was was up and out of the office faster than a seventy year old would normally move, Larry was too tired to care.

The curator sighed, wincing silently in sympathy as Larry dropped his head to his hands for a second before straightening in the chair.

"All you really need to do is be in the museum with your radio nearby. I'd recommend catching some sleep in the security office, the last three night guards did it all the time when called in to cover day shifts. Make a round every three to four hours, but don't worry too much. With this storm moving in the museum will probably close early so you'll be alone until tomorrow. Do you need to go get anything? I know the staff lounge down the hall here is restocked with food."

Larry shook his head, smiling at the curator's understanding of how desperately he wanted sleep. "Nah...I'm good here, will go catch some rest and start walking. Nothing new to me to be...uh...alone. I may have to go get my son from school if the weather closes it early, otherwise he's going to his mom's tonight."

"That's fine, just ensure to lock up properly, even in a blizzard in New York there can be issues."

"No problem Dr. McPhee."

xxx

The coffee he drank didn't wear off for awhile, even though Larry barely managed more than a handful of sips. So he was stuck roaming the museum exhausted but too hyped up to sleep just yet. McPhee was right, the incoming blizzard kept nearly everyone away from the museum, the curator finally called it at 11:56am that it was a lost cause. The weather reports had said the snow would start falling before noon and the first flakes and wind blew in at 11:07am. Making sure everyone got home safely, McPhee didn't leave until (besides Larry) the last employee checked in with him from their home, safe and sound. Then the doctor himself left, calling Larry half an hour later to report that he'd made it. Larry didn't blame him, it was white out conditions in NYC...not good.

Snow was only predicted to fall until about two in the afternoon, leaving plows enough time to clear roads for the schools, Larry had a while to go before worrying about Nicky. Just in case he set his ringer on high on his cell phone, placing it on the desk next to the pullout couch as he finally laid down to sleep for a few hours.

Automatic weather alerts blaring on the cellular device woke him up at about 2:16, the blizzard was moving a lot slower than predicted...aka not moving at all...the cloud cover was parked over most of New York state and feeding off the Great Lakes to the west...it was going to be a long night.

"..._All Hospitals, Churches, and Shelters have enacted their Severe Weather Plans, anyone in need of assistance or shelter is asked to safely make their way to the nearest location. Schools have begun lock in procedures and are preparing for students to spend the night if need be, parents are asked to wait until they are notified by school authorities for information as to not tie up phone lines..._"

Scratch that..._really_ long night...

Two rings later on his phone and Larry was already up and walking the museum as he answered the call, locking things down while he had lighting in case the power went out. McPhee had already gone over emergency procedures with him, and in the ragged packet of papers Cecil had left him that first night there was an emergency plan...basically turn the center tablet piece and leave the museum 'dead' for the night.

"_Larry! It's Erica_-"

That was a shocker, his ex-wife sounded like she was in a tunnel...snow was messing with reception. "Hey-"

"_Listen, Don and I are stuck over in Ruthersford at a side office for a client, we won't be getting back if at all tonight for hours_..."

Larry winced, glancing out a window as he checked the latch, "Yeah, it's blowin' really hard."

"_Exactly...Nicky's school has yet to dismiss anyone yet, they're holding all the kids until five thirty when the next break is supposed to be here for this blizzard...I don't know if you can get him or I can call Carol from work_-"

"Nah I got it, he just gets to have a sleepover at the museum with me...my apartment building already lost power and I got called in to work."

"_Oh fun...shoot gotta go! Take care!_"

Larry shook his head as he hung up, did not surprise him that Nicky would be at the museum on the night of a huge blizzard.

He didn't expect the night to turn out like it did...

xxx

Ahkmenrah had started teaching Teddy and Larry Mongolian with Attila's help, but he had not begun teaching Larry anything in Egyptian...meaning more nights than he was proud of the night guard was at the mercy of the stone Jackals until Ahk woke enough to realize what was going on.

Larry was overcoming this by learning Egyptian Arabic, so at two thirty he made a round of the museum to waste time until he was either tired enough to go back to sleep for a bit, or Nicky's school called to say either all students were being kept overnight for safety with the weather, or that they were dismissed normally. The night guard was suspecting he'd have to go get his son, parents could physically go pick up their children to have them dismissed from school, otherwise they were equipped to handle a mass sleepover in bad weather situations.

So that left the night guard walking the museum with headphones over his ears as he listened to the language tape, repeating the translations as he walked.

Which...later he realized was really stupid as he walked into Ahk's silent exhibit, moving to the tablet to turn the center piece well before sunset.

"...ya-qid-za...yaqidza..."

Fun fact...mess with the tablet and say something in Egyptian Arabic...it reacts...

It was never more apparent to Larry than at that moment, when he spun around at the loud thud behind him and saw Ahkmenrah blinking blearily in the dim light, that the pharaoh was eighteen and like any teenager did not like being woken up prematurely.

xxx

Ahk wasn't the only one awake well before sunset, Teddy, Sacajawea, Attila, Munoat (Another Hun), Luna, and the museum's resident wolf pack were all blinking sluggishly as if all had been rudely awakened and told to report to the principal's office.

Considering Larry had been about to head to the security office, the weird description of the scene before him kinda fit. Each exhibit looked just plain confused, except the pharaoh, Ahk looked ready to fall over he was so tired.

The pharaoh was currently looking the tablet over in between yawning and rubbing at his face, trying to keep his eyes open long enough to understand just what in the world the night guard had done.

"What exactly did you say?"

"Uh...yaqidza?"

Ahk glanced up in confusion, turning a couple pieces on the tablet in contemplation, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Tape said 'awake'..."

A low groan was his response as Ahk set the tablet down on the front desk next to him, leaning forward and rubbing at his eyes to will them to stay open longer. They'd all gathered in the front lobby once it was clear Larry had somehow messed up the tablet.

"Judging by your butchered pronunciation, I think you managed to activate the tablet early...though I'm not entirely sure how you did it...for that matter I don't know how long it will last either."

The night guard winced, glancing at Teddy and Sacajawea leaning on the desk nearby, the Shoshone was smirking, finding the whole thing funny. The president was watching pensively, giving little comment to the conversation. Attila and Munoat were playing with the hyper wolf pack while Luna lounged on the stairs, watching the proceedings with smug disdain.

"So...you guys are the only ones awake...and you're stuck like this?"

Ahk shrugged, "Sort of...it will wear off eventually and one sunrise we'll just go back to being exhibits, shouldn't last too long, maybe a day at the most. I don't dare try to undo it since you didn't actually really do anything. I think we're the only ones awake being as we all were the last ones who had contact with the tablet...touch it and it remembers...don't ask me how..."

"What now then?"

Again the pharaoh shrugged, yawning behind a hand as he blinked sluggishly.

"For now Lawrence might I suggest we all find something to do to pass the time, seeing as we are all awake...well...mostly..."

Larry smirked, glancing back at Ahk who was slowly leaning further and further to one side.

xxx

Teddy smiled gently as he leaned against the door way of the security office, arms crossed and body relaxed as he gazed upon what would be as Nicholas Daley always said was a "Kodak moment". Ahkmenrah had lost the battle to stay awake, and for that matter Larry had done so as well, not used to being up during the day time either. While Larry's was more needing the rest, Ahk just wasn't used to or able to stay awake during the day...

Now the night guard was leaning back against the couch cushions, head tipped back in sleep as he laid there stretched out. Ahkmenrah wasn't much different, laying on his side, wrapped up in a blanket, but his head was on the night guard's shoulder, deeply asleep with an arm wrapped around him slightly.

"Peaceful, aren't they?"

The former president glanced over his shoulder, smirking as Sacajawea leaned on his shoulder comfortably.

"Indeed, though Ahkmenrah's exhaustion is a bit amusing considering we all 'sleep' during the day already."

Sacajawea hummed softly, smiling as Ahkmenrah shifted unconsciously, sighing when Larry moved enough so they were both comfortable without ever waking.

"The tablet is his...the two are connected, and with the normal pattern being disrupted, Ahkmenrah is left tired seeing as a slab of gold cannot quite do that."

"Do you think he will be alright for this?" Teddy's tone was soft and concerned as he began to lead them away from the office so their voices did not disturb the night guard and pharaoh's rest.

She nodded, "He will be fine, just needs to sleep more before joining the rest of us awake. Ahkmenrah told Larry and I once that working spells with the tablet comes with a price, such as All Hallow's Eve night...with so few of us awake, the liveliness and energy was centered on us alone. Yet remember also Ahkmenrah was the first to fall asleep once we returned, and had been showing signs of weariness even before we left the pizza place. When our pharaoh works with the tablet and the spells, it costs him, it must use some of his energy in some form to sustain or control the magic of the tablet."

The president nodded, jumping a little when Sacajawea looped her arm through his casually, smirking when she held on tighter after feeling his flinch.

"Smile for Teddy, it suits you."

That earned a bit of a lovestruck grin on the wax president's face, a slight pink tinge hitting his cheeks as they calmly roamed the silent hallways.

"And you as well my dear, shining happiness amid dim lights, your smile and eyes lit up even the darkest nights."

She quirked an eyebrow slightly, a playful scowl on her face, "Hmm...if it is dark then might I suggest a flashlight?"

Teddy laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as Sacajawea tucked herself against his side, smiling warmly as their fingers interlocked. While the art history corridor was usually filled with other exhibits admiring the paintings and sculptures displayed, now it was peaceful and quiet, perfect for the wax couple to wander in solitude.

"They used to wake up..."

"Oh?"

Teddy nodded, gloved fingers gently brushing a porcelain figurine of an Armenian lady, "They used to wake up at night like the rest of us, even the paintings. They would come to life and speak with everyone, the paintings moved with their frames like a world within a world...used to do this for decades, this corridor was lit with singing and laughter as most of the paintings have some form of music in them...then one night the silence was almost deafening...they didn't come to life ever again."

Sacajawea wrapped her arms around him in a hug, feeling the grief at the loss and understanding just from Teddy's weary tone. They were silent for a long moment, the museum oddly still and empty feeling now.

"Well...though we have lost their company, there is an advantage to the art's silence."

"And what is that my dear?"

She smirked as she turned to face him, winking when his brow furrowed, "No one can see and then tell when I do this..."

"Do wha-"

If someone had been nearby with a camera, they would have gotten the best pictures as Sacajawea caught the president in a kiss, Teddy flailed a little in surprise before just about melting (pun intended) in Sacajawea's arms as he deepened the kiss.

Neither were aware of time passing for quite awhile, though Teddy's hat did hit the floor at one point and Sacajawea would need to redo her braids before the museum opened again.

They were not exactly amused when they were interrupted by a sharp, high-pitched whistle.

Then again, they hadn't been expecting for Jedidiah and Octavius to come looking for them, not realizing the two miniatures were awake.

xxx

Jed and Octavius were exhausted as they sat on Sacajawea's hands, heaving for air after having roamed the massive museum to find someone else awake like they were seeing as the windows still let in a bit of sunlight even through the snow storm blowing outside. As Teddy explained what happened to cause the premature awakening, the president and Shoshone woman took the two to the front desk as Larry was still asleep.

Attila and Munoat must have taken the wolves to Ocean World for more floor space for the wild canines to run around; the lobby was empty besides Luna who was stretched out on the stair railings, and the tablet sitting next to the main computer. The cowboy and general collapsed on the desk top, still worn out but at least able to tell that they had woken up a couple hours earlier and after realizing they were the only ones awake that they should probably go find someone and see what was going on. Once they realized it was still day time, they'd kept to the shadows in case guests were around, resulting in it taking them so long to be found.

They also admitted they had been with Ahkmenrah the night before and had stood on the tablet while the pharaoh had been carrying it back to his exhibit after something.

Within the last two nights, everyone awake had touched the tablet at one time or another. Attila and Munoat had brushed against it during one of the language lessons with Larry, the sessions were held in Ahk's exhibit for the privacy. Teddy and Sacajawea had retrieved the tablet when the African Mammals had been giving Larry a hard time and Ahk was already helping the night guard in restraining them (mainly ensure Dexter did not take the night guard's keys). As for Luna and the wolves...it was easy to assume the pharaoh had had the tablet with him when he'd gone to visit the Asian continent animals, Luna was from Taiwan and the wolf pack was loosely called the Yupik pack having come from Siberia. Safe to believe if Ahk had set the tablet down at any point the animals had brushed against it in trying to get to Ahk for attention.

Leaving all of them awake because Larry was bad at languages...comprehension was fine, but the night guard was terrible at speaking in a new tongue.

Teddy had let his mind drift as he watched Luna casually lick her front claws clean, paws stretching and flexing as she groomed.

He wasn't expecting a resounding boom to echo throughout the lobby a mere half a second before Octavius and Jed went flying, tumbling and rolling along the floor before sliding to a stop.

Sacajawea had jumped up first, both her and the president rushing to help the cowboy and general to their feet as Larry came running from the back of the museum.

The look on the night guard's face was the perfect image of how everyone else was feeling, considering Jedidiah was technically a couple inches taller than Larry right now...

"Uh...guys?"

Octavius groaned softly as he held his head, he managed to stand up straight after a moment, glancing over at Jed as the cowboy winced and stretched to work the kinks out of his back. Once they were both stable, Teddy moved and handed Larry the tablet, the gold still glowing faintly and starting to dim.

"Good day my liege."

"Hi, Octavius."

xxx

Ahkmenrah woke up enough to figure out that since only a few of them were awake, the magic within the tablet had slightly over loaded, meaning when Jed and Oct touched the tablet while on the front desk, the release of the power allowed the two to gain height, it would wear off when everything else did. Since no one was hurt and in relative working order, the pharaoh handed Larry the tablet before curling back up under a blanket, burying his face in a pillow and drifting off again now that his attention was no longer needed.

Kind of amusing to see the pharaoh all wrapped up like a mummy...

Everyone let Ahk sleep, mainly because they didn't want to risk his temper, or that matter it just wasn't worth the hassle.

Instead, Teddy and Sacajawea wandered the museum with Larry to pass time, occasionally pausing at the windows to watch the snowflakes falling and blowing around. The night guard would duck into the lounge where Jed and Octavius were playing chess without needing assistance, or Larry would join Attila and Munoat for a few minutes in playing with the wolves. Most of the energy from the tablet was going to the hyper canines, meaning there were six hyper adults and two obnoxious puppies running free in the museum.

xxx

By five thirty, the blizzard had ebbed enough so the buildings next to the museum and a good part of Central Park across the street were visible once again. Everyone had eased into being awake during the day hours and were currently all in Ocean World for the floor space. Larry had dug out a box of tennis balls from a back closet and orchestrated a game of monkey in the middle for the wolves.

Larry, Munoat, and Sacajawea stood on one side of the massive exhibit beneath the hanging whale; the now awake Ahkmenrah, Attila, and Teddy stood on the other side. Throw the ball to their partner, and watch the wolves scramble back and forth like crazy.

Jed and Octavius were off to the side with Luna and the two puppies, the younger wolves collapsed in their laps exhausted after playing for so long, the adult wolves had it out for the two 'miniature' leaders and it was decided they'd sit on the sidelines.

The night guard had just ducked a rather wild throw from Ahk, side stepping to avoid Kip, the pack beta, when his cell phone rang. He had to duck again to avoid Munoat's toss as he went off to a side alcove to answer the call.

Not that it did him any good, the call was an automatic computer message saying students were being released from Nicky's school, parents or guardians could come pick them up and sign them out, otherwise they would stay overnight.

"Any news Lawrence? Good throw lad!"

Larry smirked as Ahk smiled at the praise, the pharaoh shifting his stance and swinging around to catch the thrown ball before Kip or Mako (pack third in command) could catch the ball and start tussling over it.

"Nick's school is releasing students, got to go sign him out and bring him here, think you guys can handle-"

In a split second the peace that had been established came crashing down. Ahk tripped on his cloak, resulting in his throw to go chaotically off to the side where no one had any hope in catching it besides a wolf.

Mako and Kip immediately scrambled to grab the ball...joined by Lilu, the youngest female in the pack. Which ever wolf caught the ball first...no one knew, they did know that the three wolves started a serious fight between them and were snapping and snarling.

Attila and Munoat lunged to pull the males apart while Teddy tried to grab Lilu, Ahkmenrah was already shouting at them in Egyptian as he struggled to contain both the pups' mother Maya, and the alpha male Artos. Sacajawea had pinned the omega, Dima, and was trying to soothe Lilu as Munoat dragged her off the fighting brothers. Larry jumped into the fray a moment later, grabbing Artos when Ahk was knocked over by the two struggling wolves.

Jed sighed from the sidelines, placing the whining puppy in his lap in between Luna's front paws for the tigress to watch. Octavius did the same with the other pup as Jed stood and headed to the exhibit entrance.

"'ey Gigantor! Ockie an' me are gonna go get Nick!"

"Sure...yeah!"

Octavius sprinted after the cowboy in confusion, though he shouldn't have been surprised Larry had given them permission, he was distracted and not truly paying attention.

Jedidiah didn't stop until he reached the security office, slipping off his vest and gun holsters before opening one of the spare lockers.

"Now what are we doing?"

"Goin' ta get Nick, like I said, Gigantor ain't gonna be able ta fer awhile."

With that the cowboy handed Octavius a spare uniform to change into, before shrugging into a thick guard jacket and yanking the collar up to protect his neck. Octavius had no choice but to comply, changing quickly and shoving his feet into Larry's spare shoes before rushing after Jed as he left with Larry's spare key ring.

Having seen it done a thousand times, the cowboy only took a couple seconds to open the front museum door and head outside, locking it behind him and Octavius before beginning the long walk across Central Park to Nick's school. Lucky for them, the night guard's son had shown them how to get to his school one night on his computer, virtually walking them through New York City on the online map. Jed always had a knack for directions and was soon weaving them through the paths through the park.

They trudged through the snow in silence for several minutes, puffing in the cold evening air as their breath fogged in front of them. Octavius buried his hands in the jacket pockets further, looking around the snow covered trees and ground with mild admiration at the sereneness of the landscape.

"And why did you decide we must make this journey my friend?"

"...'cause Gigantor an' them are knee deep in a dog fight an' I ain't 'n the mood ta get bit..."

"Not fond of dogs then?"

"Naw...don' mind dogs none...just wolves I ain't gonna mess with."

"May I ask why?"

Jed sighed softly, but lifted his left arm and tugged the jacket and shirt sleeve up to reveal a wicked bite scar, Octavius winced a little at the damage and the size of the white marks.

"...Heard couple a' calves bawlin' one night my pa was out huntin', went ta check 'em and got in between a wolf an' a heifer...sonuva bitch tore right inta my arm...doc said if had locked it's jaw, I wouldn'ta had a hand..."

Octavius nodded as Jed fixed his clothing, continuing on through the snow with grim determination, "I can sympathize my friend, shortly after joining the Roman army I visited my uncle's for the summer, my aunt's pet feline was a vicious thing...I no longer trust dainty house cats, not after the scars left on my thighs and back from the supposedly sweetest female."

The cowboy chuckled, removing his hat long enough to shake a layer of snowflakes off it, "I hear ya...cats ain't any better than a skunk in a gunny sack."

The general had no idea what that meant, but nodded along anyway as Jedidiah lead him out of the park and up the next street to Nick's private school. The roads of NYC were covered in packed ice and snow, plows would out working for hours to get the city moving again. Neither miniature had seen it this bad in a long time, and that was saying something.

Nick's school was lit brightly in the dim atmosphere of the weather logged city, a few parents were going in as they slowly climbed the steps, careful of the ice. The front lobby was warm and noisy, making them pause enough to loosen their coats before ducking into the office to speak with the secretary.

Octavius let Jed do the talking, one because as soon as he saw the red headed desk lady, Jed's 'killer' smile was on his face and in action, and two because the general had no idea what to do.

"We're here to pick up Nicholas Daley."

"Relation?"

"We're his...uh..."

The red head nodded as she looked them over, taking in the museum jackets, "I assume you work at the museum with his father then?"

"Yes."

"Alright one moment, need to call Larry to confirm you are allowed to pick up his son..."

Jed barely bit back his wince, this could possibly blow it for them, luckily he was handed the phone while it was still ringing, he leaned against the front desk as he tucked the phone to his ear, smirking as for once it fit...

"_Hello_?"

"Hey there Gi-Larry..."

"_Jed! What the heck is wrong with you?! Where are you?!_"

"Pickin' up Nick like ya said to-"

"_Jed_!"

"I know...listen the lovely secretary here," Octavius rolled his eyes as Jed winked, earning a blush from the school employee, "Need ya to confirm it's Oc-Oscar and I picking up Nick."

"_Yeah ok...hand the phone to her...but you are so dead when you get back_!"

"I hear ya..."

Passing the phone back the cowboy shrugged innocently when Octavius glared at his new nick name, rolling his eyes when Jed turned as the secretary spoke with the night guard on the other end of the line.

"Uh huh...of course, thank you...Alright, all things are in order, just sign here that it is you we are releasing Nicholas to while I call his classroom."

Jed took the clipboard with a tip of his hat, "Will do ma'am."

Now the secretary giggled slightly before clearing her throat and dialing the phone again for an inside line. Octavius merely shook his head as Jed signed his name next to Nick's with a bit of flair.

Two minutes later a half bundled up eleven year old bounced through the office door in front of another set of parents or guardians, he froze when he saw Jed and Octavius in museum uniforms, quickly shaking off his shock when the secretary spoke.

"Looks like you're heading home Nicholas, your dad's coworkers came as your father is busy at work."

"Yeah, figured that wold happen, by Miss Patty!"

Jed tipped his hat to her again as Nick just about dragged the two museum 'employees' from the office to the front entrance.

"What happened? Where's dad? Is the tab-"

Jed's hand over the kid's mouth kept him from continuing as the cowboy crouched down and began making sure Nicky was all bundled up in his coat, scarf, and hat before they ventured outside.

"Nothin' happened, he's fine, and tell ya in a minute."

Nicky nodded, pulling his gloves on and letting Octavius sling his back pack over a shoulder before they headed out. None spoke until they were in Central Park and away from others, having to go slow as the wind was picking up again and the foot prints Jed and Octavius had left were already blown over.

"So...what happened? It's just barely sunset now, you guys are awake way too early."

"Yer dad went and messed up the tablet, Ahk's sayin' it's stuck fer awhile so only a couple a' us are awake."

The kid laughed, yelping as he sank in a snow drift before Jed tugged him back to his feet. While he probably wanted to keep questioning everything, Nicky's focus was soon reserved for keeping his feet under him as they trudged back to the museum, the blizzard was starting up again and the heavy snow and cold winds weren't being very cooperative. Jed gave up on holding Nicky on his feet, outright stopping after one fall and hiking the kid onto his back to carry. Octavius moved closer to help balance the two of them if needed.

Opening the front door was difficult for the roman as one it was cold, two he had to work a cold set of keys (why were there so _many_?), and three he had no idea what he was doing. By the time they finally slipped inside, all three were shivering in the cold, luckily Larry was already coming to them, wrapping a blanket around Nicky as the kid slid from Jed's back and leaned against his dad.

Teddy and Sacajawea had blankets ready for Jed and Octavius as well, the general wrapping up in his immediately with a shaky nod. Jed stamped his boots clean of snow before taking his with a sigh, handing Larry his keys back with a tired smirk.

"No harm done Gigantor..."

"No harm-no harm done Jed?! What were you thinking?! Are you nuts? What would have happened if the tablet's magic failed if you went too far, huh?! If you too had shrunk while out in the snow we'd never find you! I can't believe you would do something so-"

"Dad..."

Larry shut up fast, looking to his exhausted son, Nicky was worn out from the trek across the snow covered park, yawning behind a hand as he stood straight, "They just came to get me from school it's fine-"

"No, it's not fi-"

"Dad! Nothing went wrong! If they'd waited the storm would have gotten worse again...And besides, you were busy here at the museum anyway...not like you could leave and get me..."

Larry didn't have an answer for that, his shoulders sagged as he nodded before speaking, "Yeah...Why don't you go warm up in the office, Ahk and Attila were going to save you some frozen pizza."

"Ok."

Sacajawea went with him, taking his back pack from Octavius as she went.

No one spoke for a minute as Larry rubbed at his face, sighing before looking at the two leaders before him. Octavius was still shaking slightly from the cold and being in his wet, borrowed clothes, the night guard sent him to change right away, no way was this his fault...

Jed, while wrapped in the blanket, wasn't shaking at least, soaked to the bone from his thighs down, but what bothered Larry more was the way the cowboy kept his head down in defeat, knowing full well he'd screwed up.

"Jed-"

"...'m sorry Gigantor...that weren't right ta do...ne'er shoulda left the museum..."

"No...it's...it's fine Jed...I shouldn't of yelled...not your fault I screwed up being a parent..."

Teddy cut in there, "Now Lawrence-"

"No...Jed go get dried off and warmed up, there's food in the office for everyone."

"Yessir."

The night guard walked away before the two could speak anymore, shoulders slumped as he headed off down a side hall to make a round of the museum. A few minutes later he was joined by the former president, Teddy remaining silent as they walked the silent halls.

It only took about two more hallways before Larry sighed heavily, sagging onto a bench and dropping his face to his hands. Teddy quietly took a seat next to him, waiting until the night guard was ready to speak.

The choked mumble was incoherent, and the president's brow furrowed.

"Lawrence if you are going to speak lad I suggest you do so properly so I may hear you."

"I said I'm a horrible parent."

The president narrowed his eyes, "You are not a horrible parent! You are a great father Lawrence, and a great man, a fabulous night guard if I might add as well."

"...huh...yeah right...half the time I spend with my son is asleep, the other half is here at the museum where I'm leaving every five minute to go handle some crisis. Heck, Jed and Octavius took better care of Nicky tonight then I did! I knew the school would be releasing students soon and that I'd have to go get him...still ended up stuck here fixing another program while someone else went for Nick...if it's not Jed and Oct tonight...it's Erica at school programs, or Don at the hockey rink, or Ahkmenrah with homework...some parent I am..."

Teddy sighed, gripping Larry's shoulder in reassurance as the night guard dropped his head again mournfully.

"Yes, others do assist you in raising young Nicholas, only because we all care for him as much as you do, but that does not make you a bad father Lawrence...you said yourself you did not get to spend time with Nicholas before you began to work here as the lack of employment made his visits difficult, and if he did not come to the museum with you, you would see him even less due to the hours you work."

"Knew this would happen when I took a night shift..."

"You mean a museum would come to life every night and leave you running a marathon to maintain it?"

The night guard didn't catch or wish to pay attention to the humor, merely shaking his head in frustration. "I knew it would cost me with Nicky for taking late hours. Gosh what was I thinking?"

"You were thinking about your son Lawrence, you needed employment and the museum position was available, and you are doing a bang up job if I do say so myself."

Larry snorted slightly, and Teddy continued, "I have told you this before, 'some people are born to greatness,'-"

"Yeah and 'some people have greatness thrust upon them'...heard ya the first ten times Teddy." Larry stood abruptly, pacing angrily, "Sometimes I question whether this is the right place for me."

"You mean here as a night guard?"

"Yeah...wonder if it would be better if I found a job somewhere else."

The silence hung between them was enough that Larry turned back to the president, Teddy was fiddling with his glasses as he stared at the floor.

"Teddy-"

"If that is what you desire and what will be best for you and Nicholas, then no one here will stop you from leaving Lawrence."

Roosevelt stood and walked away, glancing over his shoulder before turning the corner, "Just make sure it is where you belong when you leave."

xxx

Larry had wandered the museum for a good hour before heading back to the office. Even though it was barely ten thirty, everyone was sound asleep when he arrived. Luna was the only one who noticed his arrival, she blinked awake enough to see it was him before slowing her emerald eyes again. The movie someone had put on was long since done and the lights were dim so everyone could rest.

Octavius and Jed were leaning against the lockers, asleep on each other's shoulders, wrapping up in the roman's red cloak and a blanket. Sacajawea was tucked along Teddy's side where the president was sitting at the desk with his feet propped up, chin tucked to his chest with his lady half in his lap. Attila and Munoat were sprawled out on the floor, using bags of packing peanuts as peanuts as pillows, the wolves were curled up around and on the two Huns.

Nicky and Ahk were they only ones actually on a proper bed, even if the bed was the pull-out couch. The wolf puppies were curled up between the two, twitching in their sleep as one of Ahk's arms worked as Nicky's pillow.

Larry silently removed his keys and flashlight from his belt, slipping from his shoes as he laid down next to Nick and wrapped and arm around his son to move his head to a pillow so Ahk could have his arm back. The pharaoh moved it under his own head, sighing in his sleep as the night guard tugged the blanket higher over his shoulders. Nicky curled up against his dad's chest, mumbling something unintelligible in his sleep as his dad smiled.

He drifted off listening to his son's deep breathing, knowing if it was anyone else Nick wouldn't sleep as well if it weren't his dad.

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
**

**Wow long chapter...anyway review please!**

**Also, the Arabic word is probably not correct...took me a week to find a decent dictionary to use...**


	14. Snow Balls

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To Elrohir (Guest): You and someone else has a similar idea, there's a chapter coming with that soon. Thank you!**

**To EgyptianAngel: hmmm...that could be interesting, I'm thinking Ahk sneaks out for something else later :) Thank you!**

**To Avian (Guest): I hope this stays interesting for you! Thank you!  
**

**To Avian #2: I know! I'm sorry! ugh life...Thank you!**

**To MiyamotoUsagiFan: lol you've half written the summary of a future chapter! Yes, Ahk usually avoids getting rewrapped, part of the claustrophobia thing. But he will need it later, I don't know if I will do CT scan or X-ray as a couple other authors have done the same thing already, I have something else in mind. Thank you so much!**

**To seabiscuit (Guest): You want a museum prank war started by Ahk and the Jackals? Hmm...I shall see what I can do! :) Thank you!**

**To seabiscuit (Guest): #2, cape full of April fish? I don't get it... If you want, type you review in French and I'll translate it! Merci!**

**To LOL (Guest): Since Larry leaves prior to NatM2, I have chapters planned out for everyone's reactions to his departure/absence, I will ensure there is Ahk's POV. I also have a chapter where Larry and Ahk end up at odds...Thank you!**

**To Magykal-guest: Ch1: Aww thank you! Ch3: I think you meant shipping, and thanks!  
**

**To mag (Guest): Thank you!**

**To thishazeleyeddem (Guest): This part of the story yes, there's a couple chapters back and forth where our two favorite Miniatures get to be full size. Thank you!**

**To Kalirah (Guest): What is it with Ahk fans and making our pharaoh sick? Thank you! And Spoiler, your idea is a future chapter in the works.  
**

**To Sister of Ahk (Guest): No! Killing yourself is NOT an option! lol again why must everyone want Ahk to get sick? Though yeah carsick wouold be a bit entertaining. Thank you!**

**To _demondean10, Stephanie Lou, Seanchow806Napoleonic, xXPyralisXx, Wataredis, TheEpicDuck123, Yjluvr44, AquilonIII, Juromuro, MorleyLikeMe, PharoahsQueen75, keroneko13, Koragg, Hessian304, False Eden, amykalmar, Story Oracle, catlover123456789, leafninja667, EleanorEarhartInWonderland, tropermariko, sharelysae, harryrocks, Zarrelion, Lady Aoibheal, Baybelle, RinzlerlsTron123, linde13, MEEC7, WebSurfer263, WhiteTails, Ale123456, History101, PiptheSnake, FallRose12, Queen of the Lizard People, Fennec'sCats, Jazzy Maned Wolf, MagnaEsquire, boohoo98, Professionalfangirl, The Dark Lady55, TheSilverInfinity, Neon Wish, Parish, Satisfactory Revenge, youmeandlokid, Silvara, Little Juniper Tree, Ija, BloodyWitchofCriminalMinda, LOTRPJOHP13133, geassgurl, IMixDangerousChemicals, Sarah-Q, lostxinxtranslation, digiwriter1392, Lost-In-Thought-1412, Ross Crow, ANIMELOVER69, jurassiczor, SinkMeInTheRiverAtDawn, Artemis Queen of the Night, BlackArtWhiteVoice, Eirian Erisdar, HyperMint, TheInsanityThatHidesWithin, IamtheBlueJay, Next stop willoughby, Transformers' BABY, Pietro the Speedster, lvb100801, megamanning, YamiYugiYuki, Zarra Rous, Shunters, Wolfenden, Debochira, o76o, AutumnLeafFall, hello this is me speaking is now, orionthranduilion, meggysmeg, mackwriter, Russingon5eva, Percabeth Jackson, thisdweebhasissues, Yukira-Kuchiki, Clopina, demondean10, shotgunequalssammy, lostmind3, Rolossumm, silvanelf, Kitsune-Taichou, Orchid-bud, sapphire316, topaz-tantei, The Fae Demon, Coats-and-crowns, idiosyncraticrose, Lady of Luck, Crazy Pizzafan927, Puckoberon, redhoodfan_: Thank you for the follows and faves!**

**xxx**

****Thank you to Huskygirl1998 for the snowball/sledding ideas; thanks to Ofmuffinsandsprinkles and OddmentsandTweaks for wanting Ahkmenrah to act his age and not his title; and thanks to Dominoswner and Huskygirl1998 (again) for wanting the nightmare/comfort idea.**  
**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen  
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**Snow Balls  
**

Xxx _December 4th, 2007__  
_

Larry woke up to a very wet, and very cold nose in his face, not what he expected considering he'd fallen asleep with his son next to him.

Why was Nicky licking him?

Oh yeah, there were two wolf puppies also on the couch when he fell asleep...

The small female yipped when he finally opened his eyes, then she proceeded to bathe his face thoroughly as he grunted in complaint. Someone chuckled distantly off to the side, the voice sounding pleasant and familiar as Larry woke up enough to realize just why two puppies were now soaking his face.

"Lawrence are you ever going to wake up? Everyone else has been up an about for an hour now..."

"No Teddy..." Larry groaned, "I'd rather just sleep..."

The president chuckled, sounding much happier than the last time he and the night guard had spoken as Larry forced himself to sit up and shove the blankets aside, jumping a bit at the cold air in the museum.

"Is the power out?"

"I'm afraid so, Nicholas was able to direct us to the generator but it only provides power to this office, the staff lounge, and adjacent washroom, the rest of the museum is without electricity."

Larry nodded, stretching as he stood up and shoved his feet back in his shoes, wincing at the cold leather. "Guess this storm packed a little more punch than originally predicted."

Teddy laughed, "Just a bit, come now, Sacagawea has begun preparations for breakfast."

xxx

Whichever day time staff member thought it was a good idea to stock the staff lounge with multiple boxes of cereal had just become Larry's new best friend.

Nicky was halfway actually eating a bowl of the sweet flakes, but mostly he was going on and on about all his favorite activities to do in the snow. Jed wasn't really helping the situation, egging the kid on as he regaled Octavius and Ahkmenrah with his own wintery adventures. Both the pharaoh and Roman General were entranced with the stories the others were telling, having never truly seen snow besides through the museum windows and that one night everyone had escaped when Ahkmenrah had been released. Least to say that wasn't the best way to experience snow.

Larry smiled in thanks to Sacagawea as she passed him a bowl of corn flakes, starting to eat as he settled next to Attila and Munoat, foot rubbing one of the wolves gently as he leaned against the counter.

xxx

Ok so Larry's summary of the day:

Power out in the museum: bad

No power equals no phone calls from McPhee about tending for the museum by himself: good

Several exhibits awake during the day with nothing to do: bad

Several exhibits awake during the day who REALLY want to join in with Nicky in playing in the snow: good

Awake exhibits not exactly properly dressed for snow play: bad

Raiding lost and found and staff lounge for extra gear: good

Watching his friends have the time of their lives in the back parking lot hidden from the rest of the snow locked city...

Totally worth it.

Aside from Luna and Artos who were content to lounge on the loading bay dock and watch everyone. None of them sat out of enjoying the fresh snow that was perfect for packing snow balls or making forts. How a ten year old fifth grader could convince seven well known historical figures to act like complete lunatics along side several wolves and a museum night guard...Larry had no idea, but he was bound and determined to make Nicky pay by helping Jed pelt the kid with snow balls any opening they had considering Attila and Ahk had become the boy's personal body guards.

Larry took a step back and watched the mayhem from around one of the museum vans, smirking as Munoat, Sac, and Teddy all fell victim to a rain of snowballs at their own make shift cover. Octavius was furiously packing more ammunition for Jed as the cowboy threw with all his might in an attempt to get Attila down. Now normally these guys' aims would be spot on and never miss, but then again the wolves were not helping at all by snapping most of the snow balls out of the air mid throw.

Jed yelped as a snowball collided with the side of his head, knocking his black hat off as he went down into a pile of cold fluff. Nicky was rolling on the ground laughing, ducking behind Attila when the cowboy scrambled to his feet and threw his own ball of snow, smacking Attila right in the face. The leader of the Huns stared the blonde down, motioning that Jed was going to get it and soon. Before the cowboy got pummeled by the Mongolian, Attila ran and tackled Munoat, shouting almost playfully as the two wrestled in the wet powder.

Teddy was actually turning red from how hard he was laughing, bending over almost double as Sacajawea threw lightning fast to hit Ahk perfectly every time. The pharaoh was laughing too hard to properly retaliate, finally just dropping to the ground and hiding under his arms as both Oct and Sac pelted him with snowballs while Nicky ran at Larry trying to escape to the loading dock.

Father and son went down with heavy thuds, rolling in the snow in fun. Within minutes it became clear the snowball fight was only going to end in a draw when it was just Octavius and Sacagawea left to face off, both with piles of ready ammunition. Attila had successfully taken down both Jed and Munoat before Teddy got a lucky shot in with a larger snow ball, the Hun going down hard and laughing too hard to get back up. Ahk had given up once Lilu had tripped him up for the millionth time, the pharaoh scrambling to lean back against a snow drift and hide from anymore flying snow.

The wolves were not thrilled that the snowball fight had come to an end, barking and whining for more and then growing ecstatic as Jed and Oct settled themselves to just throw the left over snow balls for the canines to run and catch. Most of the time they succeeded in chomping on the packed snow, other times their paws slid and they ended up even more covered than they already were.

As hilarious as the endless game of fetch was, the wolf puppies soon tired and bounded back to Artos' side, flopping against the alpha in exhaustion as Larry joined them on the dock, pulling his phone out long enough to snap a few pictures since he had the daylight to do so. The cloud cover was too thick for actual sun but at least there was enough decent light for everyone to enjoy the outdoors.

Until the snow plow came rumbling up the streets...

"Oh crap! Hey guys! Inside quick!"

Jed had to grab on to Ahkmenrah to keep the pharaoh on his feet on the slick ground, the crowd just managing to duck into the loading area before Larry shut the door on them, turning as the plow driver pulled into the parking lot to clear out the road and Larry's car that was buried next to one of the vans.

"How'll it be mister?"

Larry paused in answering, McPhee didn't care how the lot got cleared, as long as staff could park safely, meaning if he wanted to...

"How about one big pile the corner by the dumpster and crates, you know out of the way?"

"Can do, I'll pack it so it won't collapse or nothin'."

"Thanks."

xxx

So long story short on the snow plow there was now a think layer of slushy ice covering the parking lot and a huge pile of snow in one corner. Teddy, Sac, and Larry had decided it wasn't worth venturing back out into the snow again after the plow left, it was more fun to drink hot chocolate and sit in the doorway and watch Jed, Oct, Nicky, and Ahkmenrah make fools of themselves on the "mountain". The wolves and Luna had disappeared off into the museum, looking for someplace warm to dry off and sleep. Attila was enjoying the fresh air and was watching the proceedings outside the door, keeping Larry informed of the others' antics.

Not that it was needed, the boys outside were loud enough Larry and Teddy and Sac could clearly hear what was going on.

Jed's shout was slightly out of breath, laughing as he reached the 'summit', "I am the king of the mountain!"

"Down with the king!" Ahk was laughing almost too hard to speak, scrambling up part of the snow hill and sliding back down once within grabbing distance of the cowboy's ankles. "I am the rightful king!"

"Here here!" Octavius hollered, ducking a snowball from Jed before retaliating with his own throw. Ahkmenrah joined in, laughing as Jed flailed helplessly before slipping on the snow hill peak and sliding to the bottom.

"Woo!"

Ahk chuckled, flopping to lie against a snow drift next to Jed who was sprawled out and trying to catch his breath. "Now what?"

Octavius laughed mockingly from the top of the pile, playfully glaring down at the pair when they looked up at his haughty smirking, "I believe gentleman the summit has become _MY THRONE_..."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Ahk shouted.

Jed rolled onto his side, clutching his stomach as he howled with laughter, the young pharaoh near him snorted a bit childishly, or more appropriately, was actually acting his age, made the cowboy laugh harder to watch the Egyptian pharaoh with a guard jacket over his Egyptian clothes instead of his robes and a pair of boots instead of his sandals begin to try to trash talk the Roman general above them. Mind they both were speaking in flawless Latin and Jed didn't understand a word of it. The cowboy continued to just completely lose it as Ahkmenrah picked up a snow ball and pelted Octavius in the chest, the general struggling to keep his footing on the slick snow.

It was an absolute wonder to see Ahk acting like a normal teenager, for once losing the seriousness of being a past ruler. Yeah Jed could still see a regalness to the pharaoh, that's just who Ahk was. But this...this was the cowboy's friend actually being able to relax and enjoy life as he should.

"Ha! And what dost thou lowly man bring before me! By what rights do you contest my throne?"

Ahk was struggling to keep a straight face as he stood up and addressed the general with as much fake arrogance as he could, "It is I! Ahkmenrah, fourth king of the fourth kings, and I claim right to your throne! I declare-*_oomph!_*"

The pharaoh fell to the ground with a face full on snow, spluttering as he tried to clear his face with snow numb hands and his crown having slid lower on his forehead, no idea why he'd kept it on...

Jed scrambled to his feet, shock across his face dramatically as he stared at Octavius and the fallen Ahkmenrah.

The cowboy scooped up a fistful of snow, packing it tightly as he hauled his arm back to throw.

"VENGEANCE IS MINE!" Jed threw his snowball and leaned down to grab another handful of snow, straightening in time to catch the brunt of a small avalanche of snow as he and Ahk got partially buried. All of Octavius' flailing around had loosened some of the top snow and was let loose in a torrent.

Ahk groaned softly as he shoved snow aside to get free, "We should have just worked together on that..."

Jed snorted, "Naw man! This 'ere is 'Merica!" Ahk laughed at the definitely over exaggerated accent, more so than usual for the cowboy, "We do things alone!"

The pharaoh glared lightly, shaking his head a little to clear some more snow from his person, "Well that's not going to work now is it...on three?"

"Sure...one-two-"

"Whoa!" Octavius lost his footing, sliding down the hill to collide with Ahk and Jed when they tried to scramble up. His grunt on impact was impressive, especially considering he was the only one truly protected, still in his armor just with a pair of sweatpants to protect his legs.

"And thus ends the story of the three doomed kings."

The three laughed, sprawling out in the snow to catch their breaths and stare at the myriad of gray above them in the clouds.

"Haha! You are conquered so I must reign supreme!"

"What in tarnation?"

"By Jupiter!"

"Ra protect us!"

"Silence you conquered kings!" Nicky crowed, struggling to maintain his balance with Attila bracing the night guard's son on the summit of the "mountain".

"Oh no what trouble has befallen us?!"

Nicky laughed at Octavius' poor attempt at playing along, finally gaining his footing as Attila headed back inside, leaving the boy to his own devices.

"It is I, your rightful king of the mou-_whoa_!"

Needless to say without Attila's support Nicholas was unable to remain on the top of the snow hill, quickly losing his balance and sliding on his butt to hit the bottom of the pile and collide with the three exhibits trying to get up themselves.

The pile of limbs and snow covered bodies lay on the ground for several minutes, out of breath and out of the ability to maintain enough coordination to stand properly.

Larry outright had to come out of the museum to help them all up, laughing and joking as he pulled Nicky to his feet, brushing down his son as Jed pulled Octavius up, the two full sized miniature leaders brushing each other down.

When the night guard moved to help Ahkmenrah up he had to pause, eyes narrowing as he looked over the pharaoh carefully.

"Ahk? You alright?"

The pharaoh didn't respond, hand fumbling to grab onto Jed's when the cowboy reached for him.

"Ahkmenrah? Answer me, are you okay?"

All that earned as a soft noise as Ahk tried to stand up and failed, shivering violently as he shook his head.

"Nick go inside."

"What? Dad-"

"Go inside! Now! Octavius get Teddy." Larry ordered, crouching in front of the bleary Ahk and gripping his shoulders firmly. "Ahk, look at me."

Jed grumbled under his breath, kneeling in the snow as he smacked Ahk's cheek lightly, "'Ey pharaoh!"

"Ahkmenrah I order you to look at me!"

The pharaoh couldn't, blinking sluggishly as he shook in the cold, unable to lock on either one of them. Jed swore softly, looping his arms under one of Ahk's as Larry did the same, hauling the trembling teenager to his feet as Theodore Roosevelt rushed out to meet them.

"Lawrence what is...Great Scott, Ahkmenrah..."

"Get some blankets!"

The president scrambled to get the door open in time, Sacajawea already waiting with one blanket to wrap Ahk up in as he just about fell through the door and into her arms. The pharaoh clung to her, desperate for warmth as he winced in pain from numb limbs.

"Lawrence..."

"Gotta get him warmed up, been outside too long."

"Why we ain't feelin' it then Gigantor?" Jed asked, keeping a solid grip on Ahk so Sacajawea could move ahead of them to the security office. Attila must have joined Munoat in watching the wolves while Octavius was likely monitoring Nicky somewhere else.

"I believe Jedidiah," Teddy explained, "It is because we are wax and plastic, Ahkmenrah here has a real body that responds to the weather naturally. Not counting the fact that our pharaoh is from Egypt, a land that never gets snow..."

Jed winced in sympathy, holding tighter to the teenager as he moved faster, intent on getting Ahk somewhere warm to dry off.

The security office was a bit warmer than the rest of the museum, not by much due to the fact it was always cold but it was enough for what they needed. Getting Ahk out of the jacket was simple enough, but convincing the confused pharaoh to slip out of his soaked jewels and into a long sleeved shirt and sweatpants of Larry's was whole other thing. Sacajawea had to outright snap at him to get Ahk to move, helping him change fast enough to avoid losing his dignity.

Because the others were wax and not actual flesh and blood, the temperature difference between them and Ahk still remained, leaving Larry with his arms full of a blanket wrapped and shaking pharaoh who was struggling to remain awake long enough to drink the mug of hot chocolate Sacajawea was holding to his lips.

He sighed sleepily once she stepped away, curling against Larry's chest as the night guard leaned back on the pullout couch. "...'s cold..."

"I know Ahk, I know...I'm sorry man...should have payed better attention with you being outside in the snow. Nicky's so used to it I didn't think."

The pharaoh snorted a little, yawning softly as he huddled closer to the night guard's body heat, "Didn' wanna come in..."

Larry had to bite his lip to keep from at the childish and totally normal teenage tone, smirking instead as he rubbed Ahk's arm under the blanket, feeling the pharaoh relax against him as he started to drift off.

"All fun must come to an end sometime, otherwise what's the point of sleep?"

Ahk seemed to agree, humming softly before letting his exhaustion take over, drifting off knowing he was warm and safe.

xxx

Larry had made the call for everyone to just about do as they pleased while he stayed with Ahk. Jed and Octavius were just as tired as the pharaoh and once dried off with hot chocolate in them, were happy to sprawl out on the floor to sleep the afternoon and evening away. Teddy and Sac had disappeared for some alone time somewhere else in the museum, while the Huns were content to be on wolf watch while the night guard was unavailable.

Nicky joined his dad on the couch with Ahk after an hour or so, having lost all his boundless energy after eating a late lunch and 'helping' with the wolves for a bit. Ahk didn't notice the extra person, remaining deeply asleep between the two Daleys, one reading the other actually sleeping.

Well, mostly, Nicky and Ahk remained asleep late into the evening, Octavius just as unconscious while Jed woke up after a couple hours and snagged another book to read and wait for his friend to wake.

Then Ahk started shaking again...

"La...sen, sen la...ana asef...ana..ana asef...Sen! Ehla uni Kah! Matelmesnis! La sen! Emsi! Emsi Kah!"

Larry jumped as Ahk started mumbling in his sleep, shifting into outright yelling as Nicky sat up in panic. Ahk repeated 'la' and 'sen' multiple times, groaning either in pain or fear as he curled almost into a ball beneath the blankets.

"Ahk...hey man, wake up."

The pharaoh flinched at Larry's hand on his shoulder, Jed tugging Nicky off the couch in case Ahk woke up violently, stepping in to help if needed.

Ahkmenrah shuddered in his sleep, groaning as he continued to mumble unconsciously, hand fisting in the blankets.

"C'mon...Ahk, gotta wake up...it's ok..."

Larry had to sit back fast as Ahk thrashed roughly, seeming to be fighting something in his sleep as he outright growled when Larry shook his shoulders again, "Ahk wake up!"

Jed had to quickly grab the pharaoh's wrists when his arms flailed, keeping Ahk from hitting anyone as he gasped awake, heaving for air as he sat up. Eyes wide in panic, Ahk was shaking as Jed slowly let go of his wrists, moving aside as the pharaoh rubbed at his face, flinching when Larry rested a hand on his shoulder.

The night guard jerked his hand back when Ahk shuddered, arms wrapping around his torso tightly.

"Ahk? You ok buddy?"

Ahkmenrah nodded rapidly, stiffening a little as Larry moved closer, glancing over as Octavius kept his hands on Nicky's shoulders to keep him still.

"That's not an answer-"

"Well it's all you are going to get so deal with it." Ahk snapped, standing before Larry or Jed could stop him, snatching up his robes and making to leave.

The blonde cowboy stepped in his way, "Now hang on jus' a minute there pharaoh, what's buggin' ya?"

Ahk wasn't going to be stopped, narrowing his eyes at Jed in warning, "None of your concern now let me by."

"Ahk-"

"_No_."

Larry stood up, nodding to Nicky in reassurance as he motioned for Jed to back off, "Let him go Jed."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Jed sighed as he stepped aside, Ahk leaving without another word to disappear down the hallways of the museum.

xxx

Larry couldn't find the pharaoh until twenty minutes to dawn, having gone all night without seeing Ahk again. When he did finally find him, Ahk was fully dressed in his kingly garb once again and sitting on a bench in the Norse exhibit, staring at the tapestries hanging along one wall.

"Was wondering where you'd gotten too, Jed and Oct were almost ready to send out a search party and Nicky saved you some pizza."

"Not hungry."

The night guard sighed, rubbing at his face in exhaustion, everyone else had gotten some sleep in between Ahk storming off and being found again, Larry hadn't, having been too worried about the pharaoh alone in the museum.

"Ahk what's wrong? You're never like this..."

Ahkmenrah scoffed softly, mumbling under his breath in Egyptian.

"Wanna run that by me again? In English please?"

"I said as if you would know, how would you know what I'm like Larry Daley?"

"I've...been around you almost every night for almost two years now?"

The pharaoh shook his head, looking irritated as Larry sat down next to him, "What was that about? The storming off...or for that matter wanna talk about that nightmare?"

"Who said anything about a nightmare?"

"Ahk you woke up almost screaming, you'd been mumbling in your sleep for awhile and almost smacked me in the head when I tried to wake you up."

"Well now you know not to do that!"

Larry grimaced at the sharp tone, taking a breath to keep calm as it wouldn't help any if he got upset too. "C'mon Ahk...what's going on?"

"_Nothing_."

"That's a lie and you know it."

"So what?!" Ahk snapped, jumping up and whirling on the night guard, "Just leave it alone Guardian...you can't do anything about this."

"Ahk, I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong. You're not letting me even try!"

"Because it would be useless!"

"Why?! Ahk, you're not making any sense, tell me so I can help you!" Larry argued, standing up finally as Ahkmenrah started to walk away in frustration.

Ahk lost it, screaming in either rage or grief, Larry couldn't tell, all he knew was the pharaoh was livid as he spun around, gold robes flaring out.

"Help? _Help_?! You can't fix this Guardian of Brooklyn! You can't change the past! You can't stop the memories from taking over my mind and you sure as by the gods cannot stop me from coming to life every night when I'd rather be _dead_!"

Larry stood frozen, hands held out in surrender when Ahk had started to advance on him angrily, other than that the night guard was in shock as the pharaoh stood heaving for air, rubbing at his face before knocking his crown aside in a flash of rage. Ahk grit his teeth, heaving for air as he stalked from the exhibit and left Larry standing there.

He didn't know what to do, it was one thing for Ahk to lose it from exhaustion or frustration, it was another thing for him to just get stressed out with being an eternal teenager with a crown...it was something completely strange for him to just go off the handle for apparently nothing.

The night guard didn't have time to process it, moving to pick up Ahk's discarded crown before Teddy stopped at the doorway, hand held out to show Larry something when he came over.

More like someones...

"Lawrence, I believe our merriment has come to an end."

"Indeed my liege."

"Shoot we're miniature agin Gigantor."

Larry sighed, "Yeah I can see that Jed, you and Octavius alright?"

"Yup!"

"A bit shaken from the sudden lack of height but yes, we are well Larry."

"Good." Larry let the two move to his shoulders, the others had gathered as well, all of them seeming resigned to the coming end of their extra hours of life.

"We can feel dawn's approach lad, the magic must be wearing off."

"I guess so, Teddy you and Sac go get settled, I'll get the wolves in place and take Jed and Oct back. Attila, you and Munoat go get your weapons from the staff lounge and head to your display."

The Hun nodded, clapping Larry's forearm carefully as his shoulders were occupied. Luna trekked off with them, she at least knew it was time to return to her pedestal. The wolves would take a bit more persuasion but Larry could see they were much calmer now and wouldn't throw a fuss when it was time.

"Larry?" Sacagawea asked, eyes narrowing a little in concern, "Where is Ahkmenrah?"

"His exhibit I think...or at least I hope...he's not exactly happy with me right now, but if you guys can feel dawn coming then so can he."

The Shoshone hummed a bit disapprovingly, but let Teddy escort her to her case, giving Larry a look of 'you better fix this or I will' seriousness.

Jed and Oct remained pretty quiet while Larry led the wolves back to their exhibit, having to convince the puppies to remain in place without the night guard locking up the hall gate considering he'd just have to reopen it in about ten minutes anyway.

Both miniatures thanked the night guard as he set them in their respective dioramas, singing his praises at letting them have so much fun. Octavius had disappeared into Rome when Larry stood to leave, Jed whistling for the night guard to stop with him for a minute.

"Gigantor I ain't much a' doc or nothin' but ya bett'r go an' talk ta Ahkmenrah 'fore dawn gets 'ere...he's hurtin' somethin' awful."

"What do you mean Jed? Sac already looked him over, Ahk didn't get hurt out in the snow?"

The cowboy shook his head, scuffing his boot on the fake sand a little, "I don' mean hurtin' that way...I mean inside like...somethin's makin' 'im ache an' it jus' ain't right...ain't seen someone so bad since I saw it in myself."

Larry's eyes narrowed as he crouched down to be a little more eye level with Jedidiah, "Saw it in yourself how?"

Jed sighed, removing his hat to run a hand through his hair uneasily, "I've lost family Gigantor...an' that pain ain't never go 'way...Ahkmenrah...he's hurtin' real bad for someone long gone...and somethin' tells me it weren't real nice either..."

The night guard sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose a minute before he nodded, pushing himself up carefully.

"Now where ya goin' Gigantor?!"

"Going to talk with Ahk."

xxx

Ahk did notice the magic wearing out and the rapidly approaching dawn, Larry found him in his exhibit just hanging the tablet back on the wall, carefully smoothing the pieces out to be properly aligned for display. The pharaoh didn't hear the first time Larry called, either that or he was ignoring him. Larry suspected the latter as he called again and still got nothing.

"Ahkmenrah look at me!"

"What?!"

Larry sighed, resigning himself to not get angry and to remain calm. He passed the young pharaoh the gold head piece, not saying a word as Ahk took it abd held it for a moment, fingers brushing along the gold before he replaced it on his head.

"I know you don't want to talk about it-"

"Larry-"

"Let me finish."

Ahk's jaw clicked shut, the teenager huffing a bit angrily as the night guard continued.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, and I'm not going to make you, but I am going to ask that you at least tell me what _not_ to do in case I mess up again."

"You didn't mess up Larry..."

"Oh really? Cause it seems like it."

The pharaoh sighed, rubbing at his face in exhaustion and once again truly looking his age and not his title, "This has nothing to do with you Larry...just...old haunts coming back before I could stop them."

Larry wanted to ask what could possibly turn Ahk from an excited teenager in the snow to a depressed ruler who was resigned to misery, but he couldn't, allowing Ahk his privacy since telling anyone seemed to upset him more.

"Ok...ok then...when and if you want to talk I'm here alright? Just know you don't have to face things alone ok Ahk?"

Ahkmenrah nodded slowly, eyes still downcast as he glared at Larry's watch for beeping at five minutes until dawn.

The night guard tried to make light of the situation, smirking as he spoke, "You know I'm now going to go hide at the library and look things up right?"

The pharaoh glared angrily, "I wish you wouldn't, nothing good can come from it, especially about my brother."

"Ahk-"

"No Larry, somethings are better left alone. I have no idea what happened to Egypt after I died and my brother took over. And I don't want to know, it's not worth wasting time on."

"Who said anything about you finding out? I can go read and just not tell you."

Ahk shook his head, "No, it won't make a difference, one way or another I'll find out about it, this museum is not good at keeping secrets."

"Funny considering-"

"_Larry_." Ahk's accent was thick as he growled out the night guard's name, retreating to settle in his sarcophagus as he stared at the man before him.

"Ok Ahk...I won't go looking for things, but someday you're going to have to tell me something...it's not good for you to bottle this all up. I'm not the only one noticing either."

"Then go ask Sacajawea, she knows more about this."

"Really?"

Ahk nodded, laying back with a sigh. Larry rested his hands on the lid, drumming his fingers a little as he gave the pharaoh a reassuring smile, hoping it helped ease his nerves, more for dawn coming and being shut in the sarcophagus again, but also the inner turmoil raging within the pharaoh.

"Man...if I ever meet your brother I'm going to slug him and I don't even know why."

That earned a genuine smile that lit up Ahk's face, the pharaoh chuckling gently as he calmed down, "I believe Sacagawea has called 'dibs' on the first hit. Though I pray to the gods that you never meet him."

"I hope not, doesn't sound like a nice person."

"Not at all."

"Good thing for all we know he's lost in the sands of time and Egypt."

Ahk nodded, yawning a little as sunrise began to light up the museum as Larry shut the lid with one last thing from the young pharaoh.

"Let him be lost to time and history, none of us will see him ever again."

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.  
**

**Ok that turned out totally different than what I first planned...but I think it went well...**

**Please don't kill me! I'm so sorry! School, and dating, and finals, and work, and getting sidetracked...I'm sorry!**


	15. Mind Reading

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada...**

**Read and Review please?**

**To NatM-fan (Guest): Yeah Poor Ahk...Thank you so much!  
**

**To _Silvara, BlackArtWhiteVoice, moomaline0327, xXxRosalottiexXx, Faustusian Sutcliff, Dragonrider2203, Bluemisery, Book's spirit, Dark Calamity of Princess, that snarky british girl, tantei-chan, Cayran, Society over Piety, Multipule-Characters1-Acct, youwannabekate, Hawkslayer, pikaace, JennaGreenleaf, WhiteCat, Avaari, Alayniekat, Chibi-Twan, maplewind, Kunoichi Of Chaos, Aki no Tsuki, GinnyLunaHermione, Princess Ellie Hummel, Eaglator23, Xx Falcon's Eye xX, StellaClara, Peter Rabid, lycanthropy-kitsune, Linkchoo, LilyWhite22, Identicality, Tempestas D Uzu, Nyx811, cutekoalas, xXChu-ChanXx, OriensPhoenix, TheNoodleSnake, I am psycowriter, sirius4ever93, Rougeflier, mtampiquena_: Thank you for the faves and follows!**

**To Chyna (Guest): Perfectly is in progress...slowly...lol. Thank you so much! Did I forget to add translations? noes! Read on to the end of this , one, I fixed it!**

**To fluffinthepuff (Guest): Carsick it is! Eventually...got an idea on where to put that one...Thank you so much!**

**To Sunchaser (Guest): That would be interesting, thank you!**

**xxx**

****Thank you to Minecraft for this awesome idea!.**  
**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen  
**

**Inner Peace  
**

Xxx _December 16th, 2007__  
_

"Jed! Get back here now!"

Teddy and Sacajawea peeked around the corner of the exhibit they were hiding in, wanting some alone time for themselves, and watched Jedidiah race past in the newest remote control car, this one a speedy little sports model. Larry was two seconds behind him, running as fast he could on the slick floor as he tried to catch the little car.

Apparently the miniature cowboy was in trouble again, and since Octavius' name was not being called the president and Shoshone could only assume the Roman and Old West populations had gone at it again.

Other exhibits were also watching the two, shaking their heads at the night guard's plight, if it wasn't the miniatures, it was the civil war soldiers acting up again, or it was the wildlife animals, or it was the Huns, or the Neanderthals, or...

The night guard did not have things easy, the museum may care about him, but the exhibits definitely tested his patience and endurance. Teddy was beginning to wonder how long his well-being would last, the three former night guards may have been jerks to everyone, but they had each other to help out. Larry was alone, and slowly going crazy.

Sounds of one sided arguing drifted back to them, Jedidiah was probably arguing as well but being so small they weren't able to hear him. Larry stomped past them again a few minutes later, carrying Jed (carefully) by his vest and ignoring the loud and colorful protests coming from the cowboy.

Looks like the Hall of Miniatures will be under lock down for the rest of the night.

xxx

"Alright everybody! Back to your dioramas, fun time's over!"

Octavius pulled his horses to a stop, motioning for the other chariot racers to do the same as Larry came into the Hall, using his free hand to slide the metal gate shut over the main entrance.

Everyone around the room groaned, grumbling at the premature end to their night but complied. Larry's tone left no room to argue.

"My liege?! Why call an end to our night?!"

Larry turned to Octavius' faint voice, holding up what was in his other hand to demonstrate. "Ask Jed, actually no, ask him tomorrow when you all are confined to the Hall completely, for now back to the dioramas."

The roman general groaned, holding up his hands in defeat as he stared at Jed, the cowboy not meeting anyone's gaze, arms crossed and in a huff as he hung there. It took everyone about five minutes to get back into places, Larry helping move some of the horses to speed things up before he closed the glass to Rome.

He set Jed down carefully, crouching to be closer to eye level, "You do understand why I'm doing this right? And why you get to explain this to everyone tonight and tomorrow? Explain how you ruined it for everyone?"

"Yeah...I gotcha."

"And you're still not going to tell me what you were doing?"

Jed kept his head down, kicking his boot in the fake dirt slightly. "Nope, ain't breakin' ta'nite Gigantor."

Larry sighed, nodding at last and standing as Jed headed to his tent, waving off anyone coming to question him. The night guard slid the Old West glass shut, locking it with a click and leaving the Hall.

Octavius waited until Larry's retreating form had shut the outer gate, locked it, and disappeared down the hallway, before turning to his people, assigning regiments to run drills in the courtyard and arranging a schedule of those needing to get things done tonight with the now limited area.

Once everyone was settled, he headed into one of the back Rome buildings, slipping into the inner wall workings between the Old West and Rome, intent on finding Jedidiah.

The cowboy was doing something with his horse, something he'd told Octavius was called "lunging", where a long lead line was tied to the bridle and the horse trotted or ran circles around the person standing in one spot and turning with the horse. To the roman it looked stupid.

"Hail Jedidiah, might I have a moment my friend?"

Will, Jed's second in command, came up to the general as he leaned on the round pen fence, "Good luck getting the boss to talk, he's madder than a rattlesnake in a hat."

Octavius smirked as he watched Jed's jaw twitch, caught between remaining mad and being amused, "I will take my chances, my thanks William."

The other man tipped his hat, leaving after glancing over to his boss. Jed continued working his horse, not acknowledging Octavius was there until the horse pulled on the rope, pausing and putting its red and white head over the fence for Octavius to pet.

Jed let the rope go slack, winding it around his arm as he walked over and untied the end on the bridle.

"Now will you tell me what Larry was so furious about?"

The cowboy smirked at the memory, then sighed heavily, "Afr'can mammals were givin' 'im a hard time, so I stepped in ta help. He didn't take it too kindly..."

"So what did you do?"

"I was makin' it a game fer the cats ta chase the car, tryin' ta lead 'em back to their exhibit, Gigantor didn't notice til Luna 'bout down bit through the car aft'r she caught me. He was madder than a polecat gettin' a bath. I took off and he started chasin', woulda made it had the tires not gave out on a corner, skidding right in ta a wall. Gigantor's pissed and tired an' won't ask no body fer help even when someone jumps on ta do so wi'out his say...I'm gettin' sick a watchin' 'im get pushed around!"

"And he will not allow any to aid him...*_sigh_*...so he locks us up for the night? He must really be at his wit's end Jedidiah."

Jed shrugged, climbing over the fence to sit on the top rail, "More like I refused ta answer 'im 'bout what I was doin', an' why I tried ta help aft'r he'd ordered me outta the way. Said if I didn't tell 'im everyone was gonna get locked down fer two nights so no body could cause trouble."

Octavius didn't get the chance to reply as the Old West glass suddenly opened, bright gold reflecting back the artificial light and slightly blinding them until Ahkmenrah crouched down to their level.

"I figured that's why Larry locked you up, as long as everyone stays within the hall I'll leave the glass open, I think you two should come with me."

xxx

Teddy was off distracting Larry while Jed and Octavius balanced on Ahkmenrah's hand as they headed back to the pharaoh's exhibit, the president had watched what Larry had done, and while he understood it, he intervened for everyone's sanity sake as disgruntled miniatures could still do a lot of damage. Ahkmenrah got the full account of the night from Jed, shaking his head with a sigh. They needed to do something about the unruliness of some of the exhibits.

The pharaoh let the two men off his hand to perch on the edge of his sarcophagus while he removed the tablet from the wall, moving to sit against his coffin as he ran his hands over the gold.

"Got anythin' on there ta calm all the animals down? Or get some o' us ta stop fightin'? Gigantor's gonna go nuts if this keeps up."

"Jedidiah, he must be as you say "nuts" to remain at his post, that is almost the definition of night guard at this museum."

Ahk chuckled softly at their light bickering, eyes scanning the tablet for the inscriptions he was looking for. Something he had learned after he'd been allowed out finally was that occasionally the old night guards had tampered with the tablet, turning a piece or two around to see what would happen. In doing so they had accidentally made it so most of the exhibits were semi-aware during the day. A bit annoying, but in some cases it was worthwhile; Columbus' exhibit was near enough to Dr. McPhee's office that he could hear when cleaning days were coming up, or maintenance days, or lecture presentations, giving everyone a heads up on the future events of day activities that might result in changes of the supposedly inanimate exhibits.

Jed jumped to land on the pharaoh's shoulder, crouching on the jewels of Ahk's collar to look closer.

"What do half those writings mean anyway?"

Shrugging carefully, Ahkmenrah smirked, "I only know the vague meanings, just what I can determine from the glyphs themselves, what they have to do with each other is a whole other thing."

Octavius sliding down the sarcophagus to crouch on his other shoulder made Ahk turn his head slightly to make sure the roman made it before he turned one of the pieces to line the engravings back up.

"This is the Ba, the soul, that travels between the body and the underworld-or afterlife; and this is Sobek, protector of pharaohs from dark magic-"

"Like smoke an' mirrors an' what not?"

"Jedidiah! Do not interrupt!"

Ahk merely smirked, turning the Sobek piece over to reveal a more elaborate engraving, this one with a crown, a man, and a pair of tools neither Jed nor Octavius recognized other than seeing them among the hieroglyphics on the wall in Ahk's exhibit.

"What does that one mean?" The fact that even Octavius couldn't always contain his curiosity made Ahkmenrah smile, fingers brushing the detailed piece.

Jed slid down the pharaoh's arm, walking up his wrist and hand to stand on the gold tablet to look closer, crouching carefully as Ahk braced the tablet with his knees.

"Careful Jedidiah."

"Don' worry none pharaoh, won't do nothin' stupid...ta be honest this 'ere tablet creeps me out a little."

Octavius glared, "Jedidiah! Apologize at once!"

The cowboy glanced up to Ahk, smirking when the pharaoh shook his head, smiling as well. "No need, it has often bothered me by its intricacies and the spells woven into its very being. I know very little of its secrets."

The pharaoh adjusted another tablet pieces, face growing serious as the tablet glowed faintly before fading. "That should ensure the "day-awareness" or whatever you are calling it now, I'll put the pieces back before sunrise so nothing else ha-"

"Hey Ahk! Five minutes until sunrise!"

Both miniatures rushed and dove under Ahkmenrah's jeweled collar, making the pharaoh jerk slightly at the odd feeling, having to stifle any sounds as Larry and Teddy came into the pharaoh's exhibit. Ahk stood up, careful not to tug at his robes, the gold fabric attached to the collar and could hurt the two hiding miniatures if moved. Teddy caught the fake smile on the pharaoh's face, narrowing his eyes curiously as Larry went about locking up display cases as Ahk removed his crown and put it away.

The president watched as Ahkmenrah shrugged one shoulder a little, jerking his chin towards his collar, Teddy's eyes widened as Octavius poked his head out from underneath the jewels, having to scramble back quickly as Larry turned around to face Ahk again.

Before the night guard could help Ahk undo the jeweled collar, Teddy stepped forward to undo the clasps on the back, hands sliding underneath to pick up the two miniatures discreetly. Larry helped slide the cloak up and over Ahk's head, missing the entire pass off completely.

"Now then, I'm off to unlock the Hall of Miniatures for the day, I bid you a good day's rest Ahkmenrah, see you tonight Lawrence."

"See ya Teddy."

Ahk waved through his cloak, trying not to drop the tablet and having to practically swim out of the folds of the gold fabric. With a sigh he finally jerked free, smirking as Larry ended up half wrapped in the cloak before the pharaoh took the collar and fabric from him, folding it expertly and tucking it in the cabinet beneath the display case for his crown.

"Less complicated to put on I assure you."

The night guard laughed, locking the cabinet once Ahk stepped back. His watch beeped, one minute left, and without thinking Ahk passed Larry the tablet to put back on its wall mount while the pharaoh climbed into his sarcophagus.

"Sleep well Ahk, see ya tonight."

Ahk smiled as Larry shut the lid just before sunrise, the loss of warmth rippling over the museum left the night guard a little on the let down.

Larry's head was just starting that-edge of exhaustion and on the brink of a headache-dull feeling as he clocked out and left the museum, waving to the morning staff as the early arrivals started to park as he left.

xxx

By ten am after walking Nicky to school, grocery shopping, and dropping his spare uniform at the dry cleaners, Larry's headache had evolved into a pounding one, and only noises were the cause of pain. Made it easier on the night guard, light sensitivity would be a problem. At ten forty-five, he was walking back to the museum to pick up his paycheck from Dr. McPhee as human resources or whatever didn't have the checks signed until well after the night guard left. He _really_ needed to set up direct deposit.

Larry was just walking towards the security guard's office to leave the building again when the pain eased into odd numbness, like a head cold on steroids.

"..._dita appiccicose...andare via...dita appiccicose lordo!_..."

At the sudden Italian in his head, Larry froze mid step, rubbing at his temples angrily.

Didn't help any when Mongolian replaced the Italian muttering, "..._gar...onoo oroi minii ir irlekh ni khatuu baikh kheregtei yum ergej...khatuu baina_..."

What the heck was going on?

xxx

Walking back to his car only added to the weird day Larry was having, the Italian and Mongolian voices had yet to cease invading his thinking, and while he knew next to nothing in either language, he did know they were repeating themselves occasionally. What made it worse was when he started to really listen to the voices, probably a stupid idea in the long run on psychiatric level, he recognized them...

That made it worse as now along with a rather numb feeling in his head, he was hearing Attila and Columbus. The drive back to his apartment was long...even though it was only about ten minutes it felt like hours as the voices still didn't fade.

Larry blamed exhaustion, and collapsing onto his bed at noon for a measly five hours of sleep before work was worth it, minus the weird dreams of the museum, then again those were borderline normal to him now...

xxx

Work at the museum that night wasn't too bad, his numbness headache was gone, and nothing major happened. The Hall of Miniatures was relatively quiet, the Old West and Roman populations behaving themselves while in their confinement to the hall. The only thing that bothered the night guard was his mind not letting go of what happened earlier that day for him.

Anytime he saw Columbus or Attila, he couldn't shake the feeling something was up.

As sunrise hit the museum, the numbness was back, this time hitting his joints as well. Larry gave up the idea of doing laundry when he got back to his apartment, heading right to bed to get more sleep and fight off this odd feeling.

xxx

For two days, Larry suffered little to no sleep, the creepy voices of the exhibits wouldn't leave his head during the day and it was costing him badly at night. Not only was he jumpy and easily startled during his rounds, but his temper had grown shorter and everyone knew it. If he'd been feeling better, the night guard would have noticed that the news of his bad mood had quickly circulated the museum, meaning everyone avoided Larry like the plague.

Not that it did any good, as soon as the sun rose in the morning, Larry was back to thinking he was going insane and hearing just about everyone in the museum in his head. Considering there were about twenty different languages spoken any given night, the cacophony of voices was becoming too much...

xxx

Larry winced, rubbing at his head as he buckled, slamming against the wall hard before using it to hold himself up. It was good the museum had closed early today, he was able to come in early and hide away from the real world. His head hurt so bad from all the noise and chaos that the sudden loss of it all made him fall to his knees, dropping to the ground to curl into a ball.

Sleep crept up on him, and he welcomed the blissful black as it rendered his mind numb. Too exhausted to notice where he'd ended up, he merely tugged his jacket to himself tighter. Larry was out within seconds.

xxx

Ahkmenrah opened his eyes slowly as he woke up, not quite wanting to leave the realm of sleep just yet but knowing others would come looking for him if he didn't get up.

The sarcophagus opened easily, hinges creaking a little as he pushed it open and sat up. The jackal guards were shifting restlessly, like they wanted to do something but Ahk was in the way. Neither would (or could for that matter) answer him as he stood up and stepped down from his 'bed', looking around his exhibit in confusion.

Then he spotted Larry huddled on the floor.

The night guard didn't respond when Ahk shook his shoulders and called his name, he looked terrible, dark coloring under his eyes and red marks on his temples from rubbing. Ahk was beginning to worry when Larry groaned softly, shifting against the hands holding his arms. He was just asleep then...

"'Ey Pharaoh! Wha's wrong wi' Gigantor?"

Ahkmenrah glanced over at the remote control car, Jedidiah and Octavius peering out through the windshield, both staring at the almost comatose night guard.

"I am unsure, I awoke and found him like this. Would you two fetch President Roosevelt?"

"Of course my liege."

"Will do."

The two sped off as Ahk shifted Larry to lean against him instead of being on the cold floor, wrapping a section of his cloak around him to shield the night guard from the cold museum. He must have been down for awhile as Larry always adjusted the heat in the museum after hours, the air was chilled and Larry unconsciously tugged the thin gold fabric tighter around him.

Teddy came rushing in a minute later with Sacajawea following both looking concerned as the Native American woman examined Larry while he slept.

"He's simply asleep, Larry must have fallen unconscious, he's exhausted. And wearing the same uniform from last night."

"Seems Lawrence had a bit of rough day, never known him to not change clothing...will he wake?"

Ahk shook his head, "Already tried, mumbles but refuses to fully wake up."

Teddy nodded, crouching down and taking one of Larry's arms, "Let's move him somewhere better to sleep. Will do us no good if we lose our night guard."

xxx

Larry came back to consciousness with a groan, rolling over and trying to bury himself back in the pillows and blankets, until he realized the warm cloth over him wasn't a blanket, it was too silky and finely made to be any blanket he owned.

It took his foggy brain several minutes to catch up with his fingers as to what was covering him, and once he realized it was Ahkmenrah's gold cloak he sat up with a jerk.

Ahk was there to catch him when he almost fell off the couch in the security guard's office, helping Larry sit up properly as the night guard was a bit disoriented.

"Whoa...oh man...what happened? Ahk? Geez, what time is it?"

"Nearing the fourth hour in the morning."

"Four in the morning?! What the hell?!"

Ahk ignored his outburst, waiting for Larry to sit back down before speaking again as the night guard was still unsteady even as he woke up more.

"We believe you passed out from exhaustion, I found you unconscious in my exhibit after sunset. Roosevelt and I brought you here when you would not awaken. Larry are you alright?"

The night guard almost said he was fine, then decided his returning headache was too painful to ignore at this point.

"No Ahk...I'm not...passed out earlier because I haven't slept in two days, gotta bad headache that won't leave me alone, and am hearing voices..."

The pharaoh narrowed his eyes slightly, "Voices? I doubt you are going crazy, as you continue to come here, though that maybe the problem. But hearing things is a sign of severe exhaustion, why can you not sleep?"

"Because of the voices!"

"What voices?"

Larry groaned as he rubbed at his face, "...now you're going to think I'm crazy..."

"Larry..."

He sighed loudly, "I'm hearing you guys...during the day when I'm trying to sleep...like if someone picks up Jed or Octavius I hear their thoughts, or if someone's sticky fingers brush Columbus he complains, or you...I keep hearing you planning things to ask Nicky like about burgers or whatever...I'm going mad here!"

Ahkmenrah stared at him for a solid minute, unmoving and unspeaking. Then bust out laughing, falling sideways as he held his stomach while rolling on to the floor. It took the pharaoh several minutes to calm down enough to sit up properly, wiping at his face as he struggled to breathe.

Larry wasn't nearly as amused.

"Come with me."

xxx

Ahk led him back to the Egyptian exhibit, waving off the Jackals habitually as Larry trekked behind him, the pharaoh moved immediately to the gold tablet on the wall, removing it and turning several pieces, muttering under his breath as he did so.

Within a minute of doing so, the tablet glowed, the warmth radiating out into the surrounding air and into Larry.

His headache was gone.

"Wow...uh, heh...thanks Ahk."

"My apologies Larry, I neglected to correct the tablet the other night when you came to help me before sunrise. I had been in the process of working with it and did not watch the time to ensure it was back to normal before I handed it to you."

Larry brushed it off with a smirk, mostly just glad to no longer be in pain, and he felt better in general as the tablet's liveliness started to creep back up on him. There was one thing bugging him though...

"Mind if I ask what you were doing that night?"

Ahk shrugged, "You are aware that most of us can hear our surroundings during the day?"

"Yeah?"

The pharaoh shifted on his feet, turning the tablet pieces back to 'normal' and hanging it back on the wall, "I figured out just how the former night guards managed to start that, and undid it one morning. Now, I can turn it on and off as needed. But, when I had not corrected the pieces after ensuring the connection between the day and our night selves, you touching the tablet apparently-"

"Made me hear voices."

"Our voices."

Larry sighed, rubbing the bridge if his nose, well...at least he wasn't going crazy...

He looked up to see Ahk a bit nervous, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from fidgeting, "Think it's gone now?"

"It should be, I can leave the connection off for the day for everyone and as long as you don't touch the tablet between now and when I turn it back on, you should be fine." Ahk replied, relaxing a little and moving to lean against his wall of reliefs.

The night guard thought that over, now that he wasn't in pain and could think clearly, it did let him realize just _why_ the exhibits needed the semi-conscious awareness during visiting hours.

"No...go ahead and leave it on, Dr. McPhee was telling me about some renovations the board wants to start soon. Some of you guys are getting moved into different halls for awhile, and he's not telling me who...it would be great if someone could hear what was said or done and let me know later."

Ahkmenrah stiffened a little, if not for being around him so much the last couple years, Larry truly wouldn't have noticed, as it was, he saw the signs of panic attack well before many would have.

"Ahk-"

"I am not one of the ones being moved am I?"

The fact that his voice was steady as he asked proved Ahk was getting better, but his hands balled into fists still, looking genuinely nervous now.

"I highly doubt that, there's nothing to fix in your exhibit, well, I think they're going to change the light bulbs, but nothing else. Nah, I think it's something with Ocean World, but I'm not sure, it's the West Wing though."

A bit uneasily, Ahk nodded in understanding, slowly relaxing once he realized he wouldn't be moved during the day. That meant the sarcophagus got locked up and that it was possible he'd wake up still shut in until someone could come find him.

Larry clapped his hands together, almost bouncing on his feet now, he was _way_ too wide awake for four-thirty in the morning, guess he could catch up on laundry after his shift.

"Anyway...I'm going to go make a round of the museum, you can turn that connection thing back on...now that I know what it is, I won't go crazy. I think the headache was me fighting it subconsciously."

Ahk smirked, "That I can believe."

"Are you saying you'd expect that?"

"No I'm saying you are stubborn."

"Hey!"

xxx

The next night was perfect, Larry had taken a sleeping pill after doing laundry and was raring to go right at sunset, and with the connection still in full swing, he had vaguely heard through Columbus that the renovations had started that day, meaning when he arrived he could instantly find Attila and the other Huns in storage where they had been moved while they're display was repaired and repainted.

Keeping the Neanderthals out of the wet paint however...that was a problem...

Larry spent an hour after sunrise scrubbing the floors to ensure the puddles disappeared. Hopefully the workers wouldn't question why their can of white was now half empty and the yellow was missing entirely.

All in all the connection was a good thing during renovations, exhibits were moved and if Larry hadn't heard in his head where they were, someone else had and could tell him exactly where the moved guys were placing other exhibits so nobody got trapped.

It saved the night guard from having to explain why there was broken door...

xxx

xx

xxx

One week later

xxx

"_I wonder if that girl Nicky was talking about would like an egyptian pharaoh_?"

Larry sighed, shaking his head and downing two sleeping pills.

Tonight he'd get Ahk to turn off this connection thing...

* * *

**This is open to suggestions/ideas as well if you lovely readers want to, just stick your thoughts in the little white box below! I take them and work with them as I get them and insert the drabbles as they fit with the series, trying to keep in order with the movies but will see how long it lasts.**

**Translations:**

_"...dita appiccicose..."_: sticky fingers...go away...sticky fingers gross!

_"...gar...onoo..."_: arm is stiff...back is stiff...need to sharpen my blade this evening

**This one didn't turn out as nicely as I'd hoped...**


End file.
